:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/68941299/usa_today_13984351.0.jpg)
The NFL announced today that the salary cap for 2021 will be $182.5 million. The cap in 2020 was $198.2 million. This is the first time the salary cap has dropped.
That is obviously a significant drop, but as Andrew Brandt pointed out, it isn’t a surprise:
Teams (and players) knew this was coming since July. Well-managed teams have had a plan. https://t.co/t0wTr59WzN
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) March 10, 2021
So now we find out how “well-managed” the Titans are. Spotrac currently has the Titans with just over $14 million in cap space. That gives them a little bit of wiggle room, but they have some pretty easy ways to create more cap space by re-working the contracts of guys like Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. They can give them some signing bonus money now. That would put cash in their pockets now and spread the money out across future years. It’s a pretty easy decision.
In case you are worried about the Titans only having $13 million in cap space, the Saints currently have -$57.7 million in space. Of course none of these numbers matter because the cap isn’t real.