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We’ve been expecting quite a drop in the NFL’s salary cap for the 2021 season, what with complications from the COVID-19 situation and everything else. According to an NFL insider, that drop is going to be a significant one and it’s going to affect a lot of teams, including the Minnesota Vikings.
Though the NFL’s salary cap is not expected to be officially set until next month, league sources believe it will be roughly $180-$181 million. Throughout the past season, many expected it to be around $175 million, but it now is projected to come in slightly higher, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2021
Adam Schefter of ESPN is reporting that the salary cap for 2021 is likely going to be in the $180 million range. For reference, the 2020 cap was $198 million. The “floor” for the 2021 season was expected to be about $175, so the projected figures are a little better, but not much.
This is going to cause a whole lot of issues for a whole lot of teams for the upcoming season. According to the folks from Over the Cap, there are 13 teams that are over the newly projected cap figure. That includes the Vikings, who are currently about $7.65 million over the cap for 2021. There are eight teams that are in worse shape than the Vikings in that regard, including the Saints and the Eagles, who are a combined $123 million over the cap ($49 million for Philadelphia and $74 million for New Orleans). Even the Packers are currently over the 2021 salary cap by about $28 million, the fifth-highest total in the league.
This means that a lot of front offices are going to have to get creative with their finances and, just as importantly, there are going to be some very good players that are going to be out of a job before the start of the new league year in March. Those players are also not going to be getting the kinds of salaries that they may have a year or two ago when they hit the market, either.
We’ve known for some time that the Vikings were going to have to make some moves, and that Rob Brzezinski is going to have his work cut out for him this offseason. Now, however, we know just how creative everyone is going to have to get.