The Bills got some great news from the NFL and players’ union on Wednesday.
In 2022, we still do not know what the exact salary cap is going to be, however, the two sides agreed upon a “ceiling” for it, according to various reports. That means the highest it might grow to is $208.2M.
The league and NFLPA previously set the salary cap for the 2021 season at $182.5 million.
The NFL and NFLPA have agreed to a $208.2 million salary cap ceiling for 2022, per source.
There is no cap floor as of now. The sides agreed last August to spread the COVID-related revenue shortfall from 2020 over several years, and the cap dropped to $182.5M this year.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 26, 2021
Bare minimum, this update means the cap is expected to go back up following its big drop in 2021 due to COVID-19 keeping fans out of stadiums. That caused revenues for the league to go down.
If the max ceiling hits, that’s $25.7M more room for the Bills to work with on the salary cap.
For the Bills in particular, this news is big because the team flexed the fifth-year options on not just one, but two first-round picks, in recent weeks. Those players were Josh Allen and Tremaine Edmuds.
Both are now under contract through the 2022 season because the team picked up those options, but their cap hits for that 2022 season are $23.016M for Allen and $12.791M for Edmunds.
Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the Bills currently have a projected salary cap of $201M in 2022, so even if the final number lands a few million below $208.2M, the Bills are still in good shape.
Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane might have to find ways to make further salary cap space for the team once 2022 rolls around, but it does not sound like it will be as difficult as the work he had to do earlier this offseason. Players including Mitch Morse, Mario Addison among others restructured their contracts while some, such as John Brown, were released.
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