Salary cap increase won’t help Chiefs in 2020
We now know the exact salary cap total for NFL teams in 2020. The salary cap was projected at $200 million for the 2020 season but falls slightly short of that number at $198.2 million. That leaves the Chiefs with a projected $18.4 million in cap space.
That’s the space projected before Kansas City elects to use the franchise tag on Chris Jones. The Chiefs haven’t officially done that yet, but they’re expected to place the franchise tag on Jones. Projections for the franchise tag for a defensive tackle currently range from $15.5 to $16.2 million. Kansas City could be very tight against the cap soon if they don’t make moves to create cap space.
This doesn’t help the Chiefs when it comes to signing players like Jones or QB Patrick Mahomes to long-term contract extensions. However, the forecasted increases in the 2021 season and beyond could help Kansas City. With new television deals on the horizon, a 1% increase to 48% revenue share for players in 2021 and a 17-game season, the annual increase in salary cap ($10-12 million) could jump as much as 100% as early as the 2021 season.