The NFL salary cap in 2023 has not been confirmed, but a recent report from NFL Network put the potential value at more than $220 million. There are still some elements to be considered that will alter the value, but we could see the salary cap rise by more than $15 million between 2022 and 2023. For the time being, the “projected salary cap” for the NFL in 2023 has been placed at around $225 million by a number of sites and is the number we will use here.
2023 NFL Salary Cap Space by Team
The exact salary cap will likely be confirmed in late February or early March 2023. Each team must then be under the cap before the start of the new league season. During the early parts of the offseason, and especially in free agency, the salary cap situation for each NFL team changes almost daily. As teams sign free agents or cut current players on their roster, it will impact their cap space for the upcoming league year.
Salary cap numbers are from Over the Cap, and all numbers are listed in millions and rounded to one decimal place.
Arizona Cardinals Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $24.6 million
Atlanta Falcons Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $71.6 million
Baltimore Ravens Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $47.5 million
Buffalo Bills Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-4.1 million
Carolina Panthers Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $1.0 million
Chicago Bears Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $124.4 million
Cincinnati Bengals Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $49.7 million
Cleveland Browns Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $3.9 million
Dallas Cowboys Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $8.6 million
Denver Broncos Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $19.1 million
Detroit Lions Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $27.7 million
Green Bay Packers Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $3.4 million
Houston Texans Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $47.5 million
Indianapolis Colts Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $34.0 million
Jacksonville Jaguars Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-4.5 million
Kansas City Chiefs Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $28.4 million
Las Vegas Raiders Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $35.5 million
Los Angeles Chargers Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-7.0 million
Los Angeles Rams Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $1.5 million
Miami Dolphins Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-2.5 million
Minnesota Vikings Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-4.9 million
New England Patriots Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $56.1 million
New Orleans Saints Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-54.7 million
New York Giants Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $59.1 million
New York Jets Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $16.2 million
Philadelphia Eagles Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $15.3 million
Pittsburgh Steelers Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $20.3 million
San Francisco 49ers Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $14.5 million
Seattle Seahawks Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $53.8 million
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-39.4 million
Tennessee Titans Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $-14.7 million
Washington Commanders Salary Cap Space
- Projected cap space: $19.3 million
Top Five Teams in Terms of Salary Cap Space
As of Dec. 18, there are five teams with more than $50 million in projected cap space and one team with more than $100 million. Here are the current top five teams in terms of projected salary cap space.
1) Chicago Bears | $124.4 million
The Bears have an incredible amount of cap space potentially available next year. Depending on what moves they make toward the back end of the current season, they could have around 50% of the base cap available to them this offseason. That would give them a lot of options to build a team around Justin Fields next season.
2) Atlanta Falcons | $71.6 million
The Falcons look like they will be in a rebuild, potentially with Desmond Ridder under center. They will have a lot of cap space to start doing that, with a projected $70 million in space with 37 players signed. Atlanta could be an intriguing team to watch in free agency when March rolls around.
3) New York Giants | $59.1 million
The Giants may have a lot of cap space, but they have a huge question to answer at QB. Do they give Daniel Jones another contract, do they try to trade for a veteran, or do they start again in the draft? For a team that has been competitive this year, finding a solution for such an important position will be a priority in the upcoming offseason.
4) New England Patriots | $56.1 million
The Patriots have a massive 43 players signed for next year and are still projected to have more than $50 million in cap space. They have a fantastic opportunity to add to their offense in free agency and really prime this team to be a potential contender in 2023.
5) Seattle Seahawks | $53.8 million
The Seahawks appear to have found themselves a replacement for Russell Wilson in the form of Geno Smith. Therefore, they can utilize their projected $50 million cap space to try and make themselves immediate contenders in the NFC in 2023.
Which Teams Have the Least Salary Cap Space in the NFL?
On Dec. 18, there are eight teams that are projected to be over the cap and two teams that are set to be more than $30 million over the cap. Here are the current bottom five teams in terms of salary cap space.
1) New Orleans Saints | $-54.8 million
Welcome back to this list New Orleans. The Saints’ cap is a complete mess right now, and getting out of it is going to create further future headaches. This team mortgaged their future to try and press for a Super Bowl with Drew Brees.
MORE: 2023 NFL Free Agents by Position
The credit card bill is now due, and New Orleans will have a hard time significantly improving its team this offseason.
2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $-39.4 million
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also pushed money into 2023 as they looked for a second Super Bowl with Tom Brady. Now with Brady’s contract set to dump a lot of dead money on their cap, the Buccaneers will have some tough decisions to make this offseason.
3) Tennessee Titans | $-14.7 million
The Tennessee Titans went separate ways from GM Jon Robinson during the 2022 season. The fact that they are projected to be $15 million over the cap in 2023 and have not had the success they would have hoped by pushing this money into the future may very well have been part of that decision.
With questions at QB and the need to improve their offense, the Titans have some tough decisions this offseason.
4) Los Angeles Chargers | $-7.0 million
The Los Angeles Chargers will enter Year 4 with Justin Herbert without having made the progress they would have hoped with a talented rookie on the roster. With Herbert likely looking for an extension in the next year or two, the Chargers need to be careful not to push too much cap space pain into 2024 and beyond this offseason.
5) Minnesota Vikings | $-4.9 million
While having a negative cap space is never ideal, under five million is usually fairly simple to fix for the most part. However, the Vikings have several holes they will want to fix this offseason, so starting the year in the red is less than ideal.
What Is the ‘Top 51 Rule’ When It Comes to Offseason Salary Cap Space for NFL Teams?
During the offseason, the NFL does not count the salary of every player on the team towards the salary cap. Instead, they use a process of only counting the 51 most expensive contracts in terms of the team’s salary cap hits. This rule stretches until the start of the season. At that point, all 53 players on the roster count toward the salary cap.