The NFL and NFLPA agreed Thursday afternoon to a salary cap of $279.2 million, a record high for the league and increase of $23.8 million from last season, according to NFL Network.
With the salary cap set, teams know exactly how much room they have to spend in free agency or need to create to become cap compliant by the time the new league year begins on March 12.
The Steelers have a very favorable cap situation. Because of the $6,831,465 rolled over from the 2024 season, the team has their own cap of $286.03 million. With the current $226.2 million in top-51 liabilities, the Steelers have $59.8 million in cap space.
There are several holes Omar Khan has to fill on the Steelers' roster, most notably at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive line and cornerback. Having this amount of cap space gives Khan plenty of room be aggressive in free agency once again.
"I'd say it'll be consistent with how we were the last couple years," Khan said Tuesday morning in Indianapolis.
It's worth noting the $59.8 million in cap space doesn't mean the team has that much to spend in free agency. Subtract roughly $10 million to sign draft picks and leave wiggle room to operate through the league year when every dollar is accounted for, not just the top 51 contracts as it is throughout the offseason.
Nevertheless, today's news is still a great development for how they plan to attack free agency and trades. And, the Steelers have plenty of flexibility to more cap space through further cuts or contract restructures, though Khan appears to be less urgent to make those kind of moves due to the amount of room they currently have. Khan is a cap genius and structures long-term contracts at the outset to be restructured down the road.
Right now, teams can only negotiate with their own pending free agents. NFL's free agency period doesn't officially begin until 4 p.m. on March 12, when the new league year begins. However, the league's "legal tampering" window -- when teams can officially negotiate with any free agent -- begins March 10 at 12 p.m. That's when you'll start to see players make decisions on where they'll go.
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THE ASYLUM
Chris Halicke
1:30 pm - 02.27.2025IndianapolisSalary cap set for 2025
The salary cap for the 2025 NFL season is set.
The NFL and NFLPA agreed Thursday afternoon to a salary cap of $279.2 million, a record high for the league and increase of $23.8 million from last season, according to NFL Network.
With the salary cap set, teams know exactly how much room they have to spend in free agency or need to create to become cap compliant by the time the new league year begins on March 12.
The Steelers have a very favorable cap situation. Because of the $6,831,465 rolled over from the 2024 season, the team has their own cap of $286.03 million. With the current $226.2 million in top-51 liabilities, the Steelers have $59.8 million in cap space.
There are several holes Omar Khan has to fill on the Steelers' roster, most notably at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, defensive line and cornerback. Having this amount of cap space gives Khan plenty of room be aggressive in free agency once again.
"I'd say it'll be consistent with how we were the last couple years," Khan said Tuesday morning in Indianapolis.
It's worth noting the $59.8 million in cap space doesn't mean the team has that much to spend in free agency. Subtract roughly $10 million to sign draft picks and leave wiggle room to operate through the league year when every dollar is accounted for, not just the top 51 contracts as it is throughout the offseason.
Nevertheless, today's news is still a great development for how they plan to attack free agency and trades. And, the Steelers have plenty of flexibility to more cap space through further cuts or contract restructures, though Khan appears to be less urgent to make those kind of moves due to the amount of room they currently have. Khan is a cap genius and structures long-term contracts at the outset to be restructured down the road.
Right now, teams can only negotiate with their own pending free agents. NFL's free agency period doesn't officially begin until 4 p.m. on March 12, when the new league year begins. However, the league's "legal tampering" window -- when teams can officially negotiate with any free agent -- begins March 10 at 12 p.m. That's when you'll start to see players make decisions on where they'll go.
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