The Salary Cap Through The Years

The NFL owners reluctantly relented to free agency in 1993. All NFL owners are wealthy. Not all owners are equally wealthy. There’s a wide, wide range. Some are willing and able to spend. Some are willing but unable to spend. Some are unwilling to spend no matter their ability to do so. Those are the pathetic owners that only care about the money going straight to their pockets. The more the better. In 1993, the players were finally awarded the freedom that they long sought. Free agency. When their contracts expired, players could freely pursue the best deal and/or pick the best team for them. In order to control the potential for wild spending by particular owners and skyrocketing salaries for the players, the NFL introduced a salary cap in 1994. 

The salary cap reflected a collectively bargained percentage of total league revenues. In a way, the players had a degree of ownership of the National Football League. Since it’s introduction in 1994, the salary cap has steadily increased. 

The NFL Salary Cap Through The Years ($ in millions)

1994: $34.608

1995: $37.100

1996: $40.753

1997: $41.454

1998: $52.388

1999: $57.288

2000: $62.172

2001: $67.405

2002: $71.101

2003: $75.007

2004: $80.582

2005: $85.500

2006: $102.000

2007: $109.000

2008: $116.000

2009: $123.000

2010: N/A

2011: $120.375

2012: $120.600

2013: $123.000

2014: $133.000

2015: $143.280

2016: $155.270

2017: $167.000

2018: $177.200

2019: $188.200

2020: $198.200

2021: $182.500

2022: $208.200

2023: $224.800

2024: $255.400

The $30.6 million salary cap explosion from last year to this is a true outlier. There are a couple reasons for the great increase. It starts with the modest (bleak) economic situation of the 2020 COVID year. The $15.7 million drop from 2020 to 2021 was the only real drop of the league’s salary cap history. After a couple financially strapped season, the business of professional football is booming. New revenue from gambling and streaming services heaped billions on the league’s pile of money. The league has rebounded from the COVID years and it’s reflected in this year’s salary cap explosion.

Until this year’s $30.6 boost, the largest prior increases were the $16.5 million from 2005 to 2006 and $16.6 million from 2022 to 2023. There was a jump of $25.7 million from 2021 to 2022 but that was more of a reset after the great COVID salary cap drop in 2021. A more accurate way of looking at that period is the $10 million increase from 2020 to 2022. 

The NFL Salary Cap has been a thing for 30 years. From $34.608 million to $255.400, a lot has changed.