The 49ers like most of the rest of the NFL were in a bit of a salary cap crunch this offseason after the cap number fell as a result of the financial fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. A new TV deal has the cap set to rise again though, and the league and NFL Players Association have agreed to a ceiling of $208.2 million for the 2022 season according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
A floor has not yet been established. Last year the NFL and NFLPA initially agreed on a salary cap floor of $170 million, although it eventually climbed to $180 before the number officially settled at $182.5 million. If next year’s cap is set at the established ceiling, there could be a significant spike in spending around the NFL with the $25.7 million jump. The jump in a typical year before the pandemic was around $10 million. Getting the cap to $208.2 million nearly puts it back on track for what it would’ve been pre-pandemic.
The NFL and the NFLPA are aiming to spread the salary cap increases out over several years, which is why they opted to put the lid on an uptick for this year. There’ll be more sizable jumps coming as the new revenue rolls in.
This is great news for the 49ers who not only will see the benefit of increased cap space, but if all goes according to plan, they’ll be shedding Jimmy Garoppolo’s large cap hit just in time to extend Fred Warner and Nick Bosa while the salary cap is climbing.
There’s a long way to go before next year’s cap number is set, but San Francisco should be in great shape even if the final number is below the ceiling.
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