According to ESPN, the NFL and NFLPA reached an agreement to increase the salary cap to 208.2 million for the 2022 season.
This is an effort on the part of the league to recover as soon as possible from the negative impact of COVID-19. According to the same source, the increase does not mean that the budget will be 208.2 million, but that it will be the highest it could be, the team owners agreed Wednesday afternoon.
Per source, the NFL and the NFLPA have agreed to a salary cap ceiling of $208.2 million for the 2022 season. If it gets there, that would be a 14 percent increase over the 2021 cap of $182.5 million. (more)
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) May 26, 2021
Should revenues exceed 208.2 million in 2022, that money would go toward paying player benefits that were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. Most of the league's stadiums are expected to be able to operate at 100% this season, but it's still too complicated to give an exact salary cap figure today.
However, if the 208 million ceiling is reached, it would be the largest increase in the 30-year history of the company since the salary cap was raised with a 14% increase from one season to the next.
Prior to the 2020 season, the budget had an annual increase of millions of dollars per season.
