With the 2023 NFL season officially underway, how much salary cap space does each team currently have? The league set the salary cap at $224.8 million for the 2023 campaign, a $16.6 million and 7.9% increase over last year’s cap. Every cub was required to become cap-compliant by the time the new league year began on March 15.
2023 NFL Salary Cap Space by Team
While NFL salary cap space totals frequently change during the offseason, things often quiet down once the regular season begins. Teams still make transactions and add salaries to their books during the year, but not at the same rate as the offseason.
Salary cap figures are from Over the Cap. All totals are listed in millions and rounded to one decimal place.
Arizona Cardinals Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $14.9 million
Atlanta Falcons Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $2.9 million
Baltimore Ravens Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $4.9 million
Buffalo Bills Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $.035 million
Carolina Panthers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $12.2 million
Chicago Bears Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $10.2 million
Cincinnati Bengals Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $12.4 million
Cleveland Browns Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $35.4 million
Dallas Cowboys Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $20.5 million
Denver Broncos Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $9 million
Detroit Lions Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $10 million
Green Bay Packers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $7.7 million
Houston Texans Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $3.3 million
Indianapolis Colts Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $6.7 million
Jacksonville Jaguars Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $6.5 million
Kansas City Chiefs Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $11.4 million
Las Vegas Raiders Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $10.8 million
Los Angeles Chargers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $6.2 million
Los Angeles Rams Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $3.1 million
Miami Dolphins Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $5.4 million
Minnesota Vikings Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $4.6 million
New England Patriots Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $5.2 million
New Orleans Saints Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $6.1 million
New York Giants Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $1.6 million
New York Jets Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $9.9 million
Philadelphia Eagles Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $5.1 million
Pittsburgh Steelers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $6.3 million
San Francisco 49ers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $23.8 million
Seattle Seahawks Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $9.7 million
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $4.6 million
Tennessee Titans Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $8.5 million
Washington Commanders Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $1.5 million
Top 3 NFL Teams in Salary Cap Space
1) Cleveland Browns | $35.4 million
The Browns spent heavily during free agency, adding high-quality options like Dalvin Tomlinson, Ogbo Okoronkwo, and Juan Thornhill to their roster while taking on Za’Darius Smith and Elijah Moore’s contracts via trade.
Cleveland also restructured six veteran contracts to create additional cap space this offseason. The two most significant salary-to-bonus conversions involved Deshaun Watson and Myles Garrett, whose restructures opened up more than $60 million in extra cap room for the team.
2) San Francisco 49ers | $23.8 million
This figure doesn’t account for Nick Bosa’s new $31.5 million extension, but that new deal may have actually lowered Bosa’s 2023 cap hit and created more cap space for the 49ers.
San Francisco’s only significant free agent addition was defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who signed for $20 million annually. Like the Browns, the 49ers were also busy with restructures this offseason, as they converted salaries for Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, Fred Warner, George Kittle, and Charvarius Ward.
3) Arizona Cardinals | $14.9 million
The Cardinals are building for the future. In general manager Monti Ossenfort’s first year in charge, he mastered trading down in the draft to acquire capital in future seasons. Arizona also released DeAndre Hopkins and will absorb more than $20 million in dead money this year as part of the remnants of the veteran wideout’s contract.
Ossenfort didn’t sit on his hands in free agency — the Cardinals signed 22 free agents, the third-most of any team. However, most of those additions were relatively minor. Linebacker Kyzir White was the only FA to receive at least $5 million per year.
Which NFL Teams Have the Least Salary Cap Space?
1) Buffalo Bills | $0.035 million
You are not reading that incorrectly — the Bills currently boast just $35,000 in 2023 cap space. Buffalo won’t be able to get through the season with that little cap space in hand. Injuries will inevitably pop up, forcing the club to add new players — and their salaries — to the roster.
The Bills have already restructured several veteran contracts this offseason, including those of Josh Allen, Von Miller, and Stefon Diggs. Still, they’ll probably have to consider converting a few more base salaries simply to ensure they have enough cap space for the rest of the year.
2) Denver Broncos | $1.3 million
The Broncos were among the most active teams during the NFL’s 2023 free agent period. Denver signed three players — Mike McGlinchey, Zach Allen, and Ben Powers — to deals worth at least $13 million per season.
While the Broncos have a number of contracts they could restructure to create more cap space this season, they probably won’t want to touch Russell Wilson’s deal. Reworking contracts opens up more money, but it also makes players more difficult to cut down the road.
3) Washington Commanders | $1.5 million
The Commanders brought in several mid-tier free agents like Andrew Wylie, Jacoby Brissett, and Nick Gates this offseason. They also signed Daron Payne to a $22.5 million-per-year extension after originally assigning him the franchise tag.
Washington has more than $24 million in dead money on its books, as the team is accounting for contractual leftovers from William Jackson III, Landon Collins, and Chase Roullier, among others.
How Does the NFL’s ‘Top 51 Rule’ Affect Salary Cap Space?
During the offseason, the NFL doesn’t count the salary of every player on the team toward 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.
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