The NFL has set the salary cap limit for 2023, and here’s an update on the Detroit Lions’ cap situation.
Aside from a COVID adjustment in 2021, the NFL salary cap has and will continue to rise every year. The Detroit Lions entered their offseason in a solid spot in terms of cap space, so whenever the league announced the official salary cap number it wasn’t necessarily going to dramatically impact their offseason plan.
On Monday, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the NFL set the 2023 salary cap at $224.8 million. That’s up from $208.2 million in 2022 and of course a new record, sure to be surpassed in 2024.
The NFL informed teams today that the 2023 salary cap will be a record $224.8 million per club, sources tell me and @RapSheet.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023
That’s up from $208.2 million in 2022, $182.5M in 2021 (COVID adjustment), 198.2M in 2020 and $188.2M in 2019.
The CBA is a revenue-sharing deal, and new media contracts, 17th game, etc., are all contributing to a rise that should continue.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2023
The league anticipates it will will provide more info concerning total projected costs, including player benefits, in early March. https://t.co/kW7SxD2Cm0
Rollover money and contract adjustments will impact each team’s salary cap space. ESPN’s Field Yates previously reported the Lions have $2.2 million in rollover from 2022. Contract incentives reached by wide receiver Kalif Raymond and running back Jamaal Williams will factor into the equation too.
Updated Detroit Lions 2023 salary cap space with NFL announcement
Via Over The Cap, the Lions now sit 13th in the league with about $13.8 million in cap space.
The rest of the NFC North is at the polar extremes in salary cap terms. The Chicago Bears have by far the most cap space in the league, $91.8 million right now, with the Atlanta Falcons having the second-most ($56.4 million). The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are both currently over the cap, by just shy of $16.5 million and about $23.2 million respectively.
The new team-by-team cap space numbers are of course not anywhere near final, only based on the NFL’s announcement of the spending limit for this year, as teams face decisions on players to cut, etc. The Lions can add more cap space, via cuts, contract restructures/extensions and such, which they surely will do over the coming weeks. Certain moves could clear nice chunks of cap space, individually and collectively.
There’s no reason to think the Lions won’t enter free agency still in the top half of the league in cap space. But now we know what the limit to spend is for 2023, which is important and notable on the Monday after the conference championship games.