Tag: 2021 Salary Cap

21 players account for $21 million in dead money for the Miami Dolphins

There are some big cap hits absorbed this season.

The Miami Dolphins restructured All-Pro cornerback Xavien Howard’s contract just a couple of weeks back to give the team some wiggle room in terms of cap space for the remainder of the year.

Part of the reason that Brian Flores’ team is so tight against the salary cap this season is that, according to Over the Cap, they have $21 million being taken in dead money which occurs when a player has been cut or traded. In the case of the 2021 Dolphins, there are 21 players whose contracts have resulted in dead money on Miami’s cap.

These are the players that the dead money is accounting for.

How much are the Texans spending at each position in 2021?

See which positions take up large chunks of the Houston Texans’ 2021 salary cap space.

First-year general manager Nick Caserio has executed almost 100 roster transactions since he joined the Houston Texans in January.

“There’s always new players on every team, league-wide,” Caserio told “Payne & Pendergast” on Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] on June 14. “For the most part you can go to one extreme to the other. 25 to 30% of the team is going to be new anyway. So, again, what you try to do is look at what you’re dealing with right now with your team and each year is different. Each team is going to be different. We’ve added a number of new players to our team.”

Here is a look at the positional spending for the Texans according to Spotrac.

Vikings 2021 salary cap update after OL Dakota Dozier signing

It’s not a lot, but the Minnesota Vikings have some 2021 salary cap space to work with for free agency and the rest of the NFL offseason.

As the offseason progresses, the Vikings have found interesting ways to stay above the 2021 base salary cap.

The Vikings don’t have much space to work with, especially when you consider that the team still needs to sign draft picks.

With Minnesota signing Dakota Dozier to the veteran minimum, the team has a little more than $7.4 million in 2021 salary cap space, per Over The Cap (H/T Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press). That number includes Nick Vigil’s contract, despite there being no reports of the linebacker officially signing his deal just yet.

Minnesota should have ample cap space to sign rookies when you add in the cap savings from Kyle Rudolph’s post-June 1 designation. I wouldn’t expect any major signings the rest of the way, though.

The Vikings have already allocated a lot of salary cap space to players like CB Patrick Peterson and DT Dalvin Tomlinson. However, there is a chance that the team can go for another depth option.

The 10 biggest 2021 salary-cap hits for the Bills

Buffalo Bills’ 10 biggest 2021 salary cap hits.

The Bills were never expected to be big spenders early in the 2021 NFL free agency period. That’s the territory that comes with re-signing your three biggest pending free agents prior to the market opening.

That, plus a salary cap that fell from $198.2 million in 2020 to $182.5M this season due to COVID-19 keeping fans out of stadium last year.

Still, there are salary cap hit to be accounted for in Buffalo in 2021. Here are the 10 biggest ones currently for the Bills next season:

All the moves the Texans made to get under the salary cap to start 2021

The Houston Texans had to make a series of moves to get under the salary cap for the new league year.

The Houston Texans were in salary cap trouble when the offseason began, as was most of the NFL in losing $15.7 million due to the declining salary cap. NFL teams will have a cap of $182.5 million for 2021.

However, the Texans made the moves necessary to get under the salary cap. Here are all of the moves Houston made that helped them get under the cap and start off new year, new them.

Report: Vikings’ updated 2021 salary cap number

So it appears that the Minnesota Vikings will not have a lot of cap space to work with heading into the official 2021 free agency window.

The Vikings are in the midst of a cash-strapped offseason where the team will have to replace long-time contributors with younger, more inexperienced talent.

An update on the team’s 2021 salary cap space should make things more difficult. Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald has the Vikings with just over $9.3 in 2021 salary cap space (as reported by Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press).

It’s important to note that the Vikings are restructuring with LB Anthony Barr to lower his 2021 salary, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Although, that is not official yet, so it’s not included in this salary cap total.

The Vikings’ cap total is down from the previous estimate of about $10.1 million. Fitzgerald said that there is a salary-cap hold for workout bonuses of about $800,000 that kicks in March 17, so he has added it now.

So around $9.3 million is a better estimate as to what the Vikings will have in salary cap space heading into the official free agency. That’s not a lot to work with, considering the team will have to sign its draft class, in addition to undrafted free agents. Expect Minnesota to make more cutbacks on pricey contracts in the future. The Vikings will likely have to do so to free up more space.

Vikings restructure with punter Britton Colquitt

The Minnesota Vikings have restructured with punter Britton Colquitt, another cost-saving measure for the 2021 NFL salary cap.

The Vikings went with continuity on special teams this past season. Kicker Dan Bailey, long snapper Austin Cutting and punter/holder Britton Colquitt all stayed with the team.

Cutting was waived during the season. The team released Bailey this week. Colquitt, the last player of the three still on the roster, appears to be coming back, at least.

Vikings general manager Rick Spielman said on KFAN that the team restructured with Colquitt (H/T Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune). The move marks yet another cap-saving measure for the team this offseason.

Colquitt will be playing for the veteran minimum of $1.075 million, saving Minnesota almost $1.3 million in cap space for 2021, per Goessling. With that decision, the Vikings will have around $10 million in 2021 cap space. They’ve come a long way from when this season’s base cap was first announced. 

Besides Bailey, the Vikings have released key contributors like TE Kyle Rudolph and LT Riley Reiff after the season was over. Now, Minnesota is the only team in the NFC North that has positive cap space, according to Over The Cap.

No Cowboys player loses job over Prescott deal, 2021 cap set at $182.5M

The salary cap for the 2021 NFL year was confirmed at $182.5 million, with a $15.7 million dropoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday evening, the NFL world received an interest boost with the Cowboys and franchise quarterback Dak Prescott agreeing to a new deal. On Wednesday morning, the parameters of how that deal’s structure fits into the bigger team picture when the salary cap for the 2021 NFL league year was finally confirmed at $182.5 million, as reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The number was expected to land around $185 million a month and soon after the floor for the cap was raised from $175 million to $180 million. This number lands right in the middle.

Teams prepared for the salary cap to drop as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic limiting fans and revenue for the NFL and its teams. The floor  was set last summer over the anticipated loss in revenu.

With the cap confirmed, the loss of $15.7 million will have an influence on most if not all NFL teams, but the Cowboys prepared for this moment, leaving a bunch of unused cap space from last season that they and each NFL team is able to rollover to the next year’s cap.

These preparations made it possible for Dallas to Dak Prescott to a monster deal of four years with an average of $40 million per year, only behind former MVP Patrick Mahomes. Prescott’s first-year cap hit is $22.2 million, which means that thanks to the cap being above the floor of $180 million, none of Prescott’s teammates are going to be released as a direct result of creating room for Prescott’s deal prior to the start of the league year on March 17.

All NFL teams need to be compliant with the cap by 3:00 p.m. central on that date.

With their franchise quarterback locked in until he’s 31, the Cowboys can now turn their heads to other players who will be testing free agency and look to improve the team around Prescott. There will still be releases and restructures, but those can be seen as moves necessary to improving the team, not appeasing Prescott’s salary demands.

And with the new television deals coming for the NFL soon, this cap decrease will likely be shortlived.

With the unrestricted free agency tampering window opening on March 15, the Cowboys will likely be able to create enough space to engage in the market at some level.

After Dak deal, here’s how Cowboys can maximum cap space in 2021

Catch This Fade S5E37: How Dak’s deal is structured to prep for free agency

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Bills release WR John Brown, DL Quinton Jefferson

Buffalo Bills cut WR John Brown and DE Quinton Jefferson ahead of 2021 free agency.

The first cuts have been made by the Buffalo Bills this offseason.

On Wednesday, the team announced that both wide receiver John Brown and defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson were released by the team. Both players have long been considered to be cap casualties this offseason.

Check back for updates… 

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What does NFL’s salary cap of $182.5 million mean for the Vikings?

How does the 2021 salary cap of $182.5 million factor in to the Minnesota Vikings’ offseason?

Minnesota was right up against the salary cap for much of 2020 and with the salary cap for 2021, this season could be even tougher for the team.

The NFL has set the salary cap at $182.5 million. That’s an improvement over the $180 million floor, which was the lowest total it could be this season. However, it still leaves the Vikings having to make some tough financial decisions.

Minnesota is now more than $2.35 million over the 2021 base salary cap, per Over The Cap. The Vikings have the most cap space of any team that’s over the cap at the moment, so there are other teams that are worse off, at least.

The team has already made several moves to free up some cap space for 2021. The Vikings released TE Kyle Rudolph, K Dan Bailey, CB Tae Hayes and CB Cordrea Tankersley. Minnesota will have to make even more moves to get below the salary cap so that it can sign free agents and rookies this offseason.