Tag: Chargers salary cap space

How NFL’s $255.4M salary cap will impact Chargers

The Chargers, who are strapped for cash going into this offseason, got great news when the official NFL salary cap was released.

The Chargers, who are strapped for cash going into this offseason, got great news when the official NFL salary cap was released.

The 2024 cap is set at $255.4 million, an increase of $30.6 million from this past season ($224.8 million).

With the official number locked in, Los Angeles is $22.1 million over the salary cap.

The 2024 NFL New League Year begins at 1 p.m. PT on March 13. All NFL teams must be under the salary cap by then.

Los Angeles can get accomplish that by making moves, such as trading/cutting Joey Bosa ($14 million), Khalil Mack ($23 million), Mike Williams ($20 million), Keenan Allen ($23.1 million) and cutting Eric Kendricks ($6.5 million).

Additionally, they will get some relief if Corey Linsley retires after June 1st.

Keenan Allen on future with Chargers: ‘I don’t want to go nowhere else’

Keenan Allen could be dealt to clear up salary cap space.

With the Chargers set to be over the league’s salary cap, they will have to do some wheeling and dealing with some of their players this offseason to create space, whether it’s extending, trading, restructuring or releasing them.

Among the current highest-paid players who could be dealt to open up salary cap space is wide receiver Keenan Allen. Allen, however, hopes that he remains in Los Angeles.

“I don’t want to go nowhere else,” Allen said. “I’ve been here 10 years, like you said, the longest guy on the team, so I’m not looking forward to anything else.”

Allen is coming off the best season of his career before suffering a heel injury that kept him sidelined for the final four games of the season. In 13 games, he set the Chargers’ single-season record for receptions with 108 and amassed 1,243 yards, the second-most in his career.

Allen is due $18.1 million in the final year of his contract. Meanwhile, the Bolts are expected to be over $45 million over the projected $240.5 million salary cap in 2024.

If he happened to be traded, Allen said he would only play for a “select few” teams. Otherwise, he would retire.

“If it did come down to that, adios amigos,” Allen said. “I’ll get picked up in the offseason or right before the playoffs like them old heads be doing.”

10 biggest cap hits for the Chargers heading into 2023 offseason

Taking a look at the Chargers’ 10 biggest salary cap hits ahead of 2023.

The Chargers’ 2022 season is over. After finishing 10-7 in the regular season and losing in the Wild Card round to the Jaguars, their attention shifts to the offseason, where they will look to reconstruct the roster.

Los Angeles will have roughly $10 million over the cap for the 2023 season, the fifth-worst situation in the NFL. This number is before a potential contract extension for quarterback Justin Herbert.

Therefore, L.A. will likely need to cut or restructure the contracts of players on the team to make space for that and any additional free agents.

With that, let’s look at their top 10 cap hits for 2023 (numbers via Spotrac):

10 most-expensive Chargers against 2022 salary cap

There are some Chargers players with some hefty cap hits heading into 2022. Could any of them be potential cap casualties?

The Chargers face a very favorable salary cap situation entering the 2022 offseason. The team is projected to have approximately $68.4 million in cap space ahead of free agency, according to figures from Over The Cap.

Los Angeles has plenty of room to be aggressive if they wish. But before that, the Bolts will have to figure out what they’re going to do with some of their internal free agents, and if a decent portion of the money goes to them, they could choose to make some cuts to get back what they lose.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the top-10 players who are eating up the most cap space for the 2022 Chargers:

1. EDGE Joey Bosa

Salary Cap Hit: $28,250,000

2. WR Keenan Allen

Salary Cap Hit: $19,200,000

3. OT Bryan Bulaga

Salary Cap Hit: $14,083,334

4. C Corey Linsley

Salary Cap Hit: $11,600,000

5. CB Michael Davis

Salary Cap Hit: $9,352,935

6. S Derwin James

Salary Cap Hit: $9,052,000

7. OT Matt Feiler

Salary Cap Hit: $7,500,000

8. QB Justin Herbert

Salary Cap Hit: $7,248,751

9. RB Austin Ekeler

Salary Cap Hit: $6,500,000

10. OT Rashawn Slater

Salary Cap Hit: $3,779,945

Bottom Line: Out of the bunch, Bulaga is the only likely candidate to be released. Bulaga was signed last year with the hopes of supplying sustainability at the right tackle position. But considering his time with the Chargers has been ridiculed by injuries, playing in 11 out 33 games, cutting him and signing or drafting one to fortify the offensive line may be the ideal scenario.

Chargers near top of NFL in salary cap space over next three years

The Los Angeles Chargers are in good standing from a financial standpoint.

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco has done a fine job of bringing in as well as retaining top-tier players throughout the years.

Telesco has made this happen by drafting and developing young talent and making acquisitions for bargain of deals, which is reflective on their yearly spendings.

According to Pro Football Focus, Los Angeles has the sixth-best cap situation over the next three years.

The Chargers could have an argument as the best currently situated team in the NFL from a financial perspective. Of course, this relies on whether quarterback Justin Herbert can repeat — or even improve upon — his stellar rookie performance from 2020. They already have the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL in edge rusher Joey Bosa and the third-highest paid wide receiver in Keenan Allen under contract for the foreseeable future.

There is no question the team could stand to improve at several spots along the roster, but they drafted a blue-chip left tackle prospect in Rashawn Slater, and pretty much every other potential weak spot shouldn’t break the bank by any means.

Over the next three offseasons, PFF projects the Bolts to have a combined $151.4 million in cap space to spend.

Next offseason, the Chargers will have notable players that will be free agents like Linval Joseph, Mike Williams, Chris Harris Jr., Uchenna Nwosu, Jared Cook, among others.

However, projected $51.1 million in cap space then, the team should have the flexibility to retain some of the players and bring in a big-name free agent.

At the end of the day, Los Angeles is built to win now and it should only continue to be that way, given their financial outlook.