The NFL has set a salary cap floor of $180M for the 2021 season

It has been widely anticipated for about a year now that the NFL’s salary cap for the 2021 season will be much less than that of previous years. Of course, this is due to the COVID-19 pandemic as revenue was lost by teams, a result that will be changing up the trajectory of the salary cap.

This is a complicated situation for a team like the Dallas Cowboys that has a big-time contract hanging over their heads in their quarterback, but they also have a lot of other financial decisions to be made.

The league’s official salary cap number should be known soon enough, but on Thursday the floor for the cap was reported by NFL Network. Originally thought to be $175M, it is going to be $180M.

“As you know, one aspect of the agreements negotiated last summer with the NFLPA to address operations during the pandemic provides that the 2021 Salary Cap will be no less than $175 million. Following discussions with the union that addressed both actual 2020 revenues and projected attendance for the 2021 season, we have agreed to increase the minimum Salary cap for the 2021 League Year to $180 million.

“This is not the final Salary Cap for the 2021 League Year, which will be set following review of final 2020 revenue figures and other audit and accounting adjustments. This agreement simply increases the minimum 2021 Salary Cap by $5 million per club, from $175 million to $180 million.

“We will promptly advise all clubs as soon as the Salary Cap is set.”

At present time the Cowboys have the 12th-most cap space in the NFL according to OverTheCap, second-most in the NFC East only behind Washington, but again the Dak Prescott situation is one that will dramatically impact that.

The floor is set. Now we wait for the ceiling.