The NFL salary cap in 2023 was 224.8 million...
Caps are not what they seem, they constantly change.
As an example, in Jalen Hurts’ $251 million extension with the Eagles, the first- and second-year cap numbers are $6.15 million and $13.5 million. Those are cap percentages of roughly $2.8% and 5.7%, shockingly low percentages for a star quarterback on a veteran contract. Of course, the cap numbers and percentages rise significantly in later years, but the future structure of the deal also prevents high cap numbers and percentages. The Eagles used a structure with team options that push out cap proration into dummy void years that will never materialize. Thus, the cap percentages for Hurts in this contract are alarmingly low for a player of his stature.
There is a difference in cap versus cash. NFL teams have now several people paid to manage their cap books. They may choose management strategies that are team-friendly early and team-unfriendly late or more balanced. Cap can be easily moved around by a first-year NFL cap manager as much as an experienced one. The point is that it can be managed.
So on paper the cap may look high in comparison to what is really being paid. And teams never tell the public what the contracts actually are since they are based on numbers that may never exist long term and the players never get to it due to injury or retirement. Magic Johnson in the NBA had an initial contract of $25M over 25 years. He didn’t play that long so the cap was never in danger.
Let’s change sports for second. Let’s look at the NY Yankees baseball team. While Steinbrenner was alive, the Yankees went over cap almost every year. And to get the top notched players he was willing to spend the cash to get them. But the Yankees normally mde the playoffs and had their own television network beside contracts and when they went over cap, they easily made enough money to pay the fines the public never saw, just heard about. And the owners are not going to clamp down on them as they are making the money for the whole league in the long run. More than one way to skin the cat.
wy69
The NFL cap is exactly what it seems, the NFL has a hard cap, yes the cap changes from year to year, based on NFL revenue, the cap has steadily increased over the years because due primarily to the increase in TV rights fees.
The NFL also shares revenue amongst teams, meaning every team gets and equal slice of the TV deals, which is why a team in Green Bay can effectively compete against teams in Dallas and NY.
The NFL also has a rookie contract slotting system that based on your draft position pretty much guarantees how much you will be paid, that’s why the 49ers with a 7th round pick at QB can afford so many other top tier players because their QB is making less than 1 million per year versus the KC chiefs where Mahomes makes around 50 million per year.
The other main difference in the NFL is their contracts are not guaranteed, except for the signing bonuses, versus MLB and NBA contracts that are guaranteed.
The NFL amortizes signing bonuses over life of the contract so a 20-million-dollar bonus over a 5 year contract averages to 4 million per year in cap space, combined with the salary for that year equals the cap hit for that player, that’s the reason Jalen Hurt in your example counts so little in year 1 and 2.
MLB teams like the Yankees can exceed the salary cap, if they do, they pay a tax into a fund that gets distributed to lower revenue teams like Tampa Bay.