The cap maximum for the upcoming season has been increased to $255 million but a number of teams are exceeding that upper limit.
William GittinsWillGittUpdate: Aug 19th, 2024 14:22 EDT0
NICK CAMMETTAFP
The fourth round of NFL preseason fixtures will be played next weekend, the final on-field preparations ahead of the 2024/25 season.
The salary cap was increased to $255.4 million for the upcoming campaign, a record 13.6% increase on last year’s limit. This has allowed some teams to strengthen significantly over the off-season and has provided additional funds to keep existing players. With data from team contract resource Spotrac, here are the top ten highest active wage bills in the NFL for the 2024/25 season…
Biggest NFL team salaries
Cleveland Browns – $279,893,703Atlanta Falcons – $271,039,382Cincinnati Bengals – $268,821,827Baltimore Ravens – $262,771,156Kansas City Chiefs – $261,839,597Chicago Bears – $259,920,124Indiana Colts – $259,248,766New York Giants – $258,739,334Jacksonville Jaguars – $252,094,927Houston Texans – $251,318,800
To be clear, these totals do not represent the total salary cap hit for each team. Deferred salaries, exempted costs and dead money payments mean that the salary cap hit often occurs outside of the season in which the player receives the money. Teams do this to allow them to build a championship-ready team in the short term, spreading the cost out across future seasons.
What happens if a team exceeds the NFL salary cap?
The league may have implemented a record increase on the salary cap for 2024/25 but that doesn’t mean that it’s going soft on salaries. Any teams who transgress the strict salary cap rules can expect to face a swift punishment from the NFL.
The most common punishment for teams who fail to come in below the salary cap is a fine, typically at least $5 million for each transgression. However penalties can also include the loss of draft picks and the voiding of player contracts. Most dramatically, teams can be hit with a blanket ban on new signings, hamstringing the front office going forward.
