The NFL salary cap is set at $182.5M. Let the Kansas City Chiefs’ cap gymnastics begin
It’s official: The cap-strapped Chiefs have some work to do before the start of the NFL’s new calendar year on March 17.
According to multiple reports, the NFL informed teams Wednesday morning that the 2021 salary camp has been set at $182.5 million. That’s a big dip from recent years, but an understandable one — league-wide revenues fell last fall as attendance was restricted by pandemic concerns.
With the 2021 figure now in hand, the Chiefs currently project to be $20.9 million over the cap, according to salary-cap website Over the Cap.
In 2020, the NFL set the salary cap at $198.2 million. And even that figure prompted the Chiefs to find creative ways to get under that number before the start of free agency. Chiefs general manager Brett Veach and his staff will need a repeat performance with $15.7 million less to spend.
Attendance across the league plummeted to 1.2 million in 2020, a decrease of 17 million from the 2019 season. The Chiefs were one of 19 teams that allowed limited capacity at home games; the remaining 13 played home games with no fans in attendance in accordance with their respective local and state COVID-19 safety restrictions.
“I would say it’s challenging,” Veach said recently in anticipation of the lower cap this offseason, “but it’s like that for most teams.
“I think when you budget years in advance, and when you’re doing things in real-time, you’re looking toward the future and you’re always projecting the progression of the cap ... I think originally, the last couple of years prior to last offseason, we were banking on a cap of $210 (million).
“You feel about, all right, we’re going to be in a really good position, and then all of a sudden we go through what we went through last year (pandemic) and now you’re at $180 (million). It’s certainly not ideal, but I would say that probably half the league is in the same boat. So I think there will be some unusual cuts made within the next few weeks, just because teams have to get creative and find solutions to stay under the cap.”
Veach and his cap lieutenants, Brandt Tilis and Chris Shea, were prepared for Wednesday’s announcement. While the Chiefs were hoping for a cap set at more like $185 million, the team has some potential wiggle room.
For instance, restructuring certain players’ contracts or signing some players to long-term extensions could provide relief. A good example is safety Tyrann Mathieu, who’s entering the final year of his contract and counts for $19.7 million against the salary cap. He is a prime candidate for a possible contract extension that would allow the Chiefs to keep the star safety around on a longer-term deal paid out over a longer period of time.
Based on Veach’s comments March 1, keeping Mathieu in Kansas City for the long haul with a deal that makes sense for both sides is high on their priority list.
“We’ll certainly go to work with him and his agents and see what we can get done,” Veach said. “But needless to say that we hope he’s here with this organization for years to come.”
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Chiefs steered clear of the league’s first wave of free-agent signings, given their financial limitations relative to the cap. The organization experienced a similar situation in 2020 and still eventually landed offensive lineman Mike Remmers in free agency. The Chiefs also took care of their own by signing quarterback Patrick Mahomes to an NFL-record deal, inking star defensive tackle Chris Jones to an extension and bringing back wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and cornerback Bashaud Breeland, among other moves.
And that experience should only help Veach and his staff to maneuver the current $182.5 million figure.
“It’s not where we want to be, but it’s the reality of what we went through last year with the pandemic,” Veach said. “Look forward to seeing how great we can get this year. There’s always different solutions, and I’m confident in my staff and our ability to create room necessary to add players that will make a difference on the field.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2021 at 10:19 AM with the headline "The NFL salary cap is set at $182.5M. Let the Kansas City Chiefs’ cap gymnastics begin."
