NFL’s Salary Cap Jump Could Be Major Hindrance For Patriots

The New England Patriots immediately came to mind after a major announcement was made on Wednesday.

The NFL reportedly sent a memo to teams informing them that the salary cap will fall in the range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million in 2025. It’s yet another increase in the number, which has jumped by more than $53 million over the last two years.

Good news, right?

Yes, it’s undoubtedly a positive thing that the number is increasing. New England is expected to top the league in available money at roughly $133 million, according to salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, which should open up plenty of opportunities for the organization. The Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears can’t touch that number, but the fact of the matter is, that an increase to the cap by this amount makes it easier for teams to sign their own free agents.

The Cincinnati Bengals reportedly are willing to place the franchise tag on wide receiver Tee Higgins, hoping to eventually come to a long-term agreement with him and avoid letting him hit the open market — and now have $22 million more to play with.

The Kansas City Chiefs can’t keep all of their impending free agents, but they certainly can allocate that chunk of change to a guy like guard Trey Smith. The Baltimore Ravens can do the same thing with tackle Ronnie Stanley, the Philadelphia Eagles with pass-rusher Josh Sweat, etc.

It’s not like an increase was previously unaccounted for, of course, but no one expected it to be this large.

The Patriots are still in the driver’s seat, but things have gotten much more difficult if they’re hoping to lure away top free agents. Higgins isn’t going to move to Foxboro, Mass. if he isn’t being given a considerable raise to do so. Smith, Stanley and Sweat probably would prefer to be competing for Super Bowls, so if the money is similar, why make a change?

New England likely will need to get extremely uncomfortable to make a splash, — and while that may have already been the case, there is no longer any doubt.