With the NFL and NFLPA reaching a resolution on the addendum to the CBA (collective bargaining agreement), there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the numbers publicized about the NFL’s salary cap.
In this piece, we will take what has changed, what has stayed the same, where the Lions sit entering training camp, and where they could be in the future.
2020
With regards to the 2020 salary cap, the above NFL and NFLPA addendum agreed to leave it unchanged at $198.2 million. The Lions, who have the fifth-most cap space in the league, sit with a comfortable $23 million in available space according to OverTheCap.com.
$23 million will allow general manager Bob Quinn and cap guru Mike Disner to take their time evaluating free agents, as well as determining which current players could receive contract extensions. So far we at Lions Wire have projected extensions for Kenny Golladay and Taylor Decker, while Matt Prater also remains a strong candidate for a new deal.
To get a better understanding of where the Lions are spending their money, we broke down all 89 player contracts (estimating Jashon Cornell’s contract as he has not yet signed his rookie deal) and then sectioned them off by position to determine how they were allocating funds.
While the current COVID-19 environment will ask the Lions to cut the roster down to 80 players during training camp, that will more than likely not impact the current roster space, as the cap only factors in the top-51 contracts. But, when the roster is cut to 53 players in September — with 16 on the practice squad — there will be some movement to the cap.
2021-2024
While it will be tempting to spend the $23 million during the 2020 season, there are also several reasons to stash that money away for the future, especially considering the league is expected to take a financial loss this season.
The salary cap is directly determined by the profit/loss of the league year prior, and with losses on the horizon due to the pandemic, the NFL and NFLPA have taken steps to soften the impact on future salary caps.
Instead of forcing 2021 alone to offset the loss, they agreed to spread out the loss over four years (through 2024), while also setting a cap floor of $175 million in 2021. By setting the floor for 2021, it will allow general managers the ability to begin planning for the future.
For the last decade, the salary cap has steadily risen and teams have structured contracts with this in mind, but with a potential drop of $23 million (from $198.2 to $175 million), some teams will have to make quick unplanned adjustments.
Currently, the Lions have $175 million invested in 44 players for the 2021 season — which would leave them with literally zero wiggle room — but with the potential to rollover 2020 cap, Quinn could move over much of the $23 million in available funds in order to create more room in 2021.
If the 2021 NFL Salary cap is set at $175 million and every team is able to rollover all of their current 2020 cap space, here is a look at where every team in the league could enter the offseason.
(data gathered at https://t.co/ZzzOrFvbmu) pic.twitter.com/y7t8QMIV6J
— Erik Schlitt (@erikschlitt) July 25, 2020
There are several ways to create more cap space — extensions, rework contracts, cuts — and we are a full football season away from seeing many of those moves, but as things stand today, the Lions would open up the 2021 offseason around 16th in the NFL in available funds.
Conclusion
The Lions are in good shape for 2020 and having $23 million available gives them some flexibility to make moves they determine necessary. But with potential roadblocks ahead in 2021-2024, don’t expect the Lions to risk their future and make any big moves unless the deal is too good to pass up.
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