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The NFL’s salary cap could be headed for a record high of $220 million per club in 2023, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
However, a number of unknowns leave the exact cap number unclear with just over three months until the start of free agency and the new league year.
NFL Network reports that a source familiar with the process would put the 2023 cap number at “well above 220 (million).” However, the NFL has not made its cap projection amid questions about revenue from new TV deals and payouts of player benefits that were deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic, according Rapoport and Pelissero.
The 2022 cap set the previous record at $208.2 million, bouncing back significantly after a drop from $198.2 million in 2020 to $182.5 million in 2021 due to the pandemic. From 2013 to ’20, the salary cap had been growing at a pace of $10.74 million a year, a rate which would return based on the projections for 2023.
Owners are scheduled gather for the winter league meeting on Dec. 13 and 14, when an estimate is made on the salary cap figure. The final number is likely to be settled upon in late February or early March. The 2023 league year is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15, with the free-agent negotiating period opening at noon ET on March 13.
