With the 2023 NFL offseason well underway and the teams starting to return to the field, how much salary cap space does every team currently have? The NFL set the salary cap at $224.8 million for the 2023 season, a $16.6 million and 7.9% increase over last year’s cap number. Every team was required to become cap-compliant by the beginning of the new league year on March 15. Through the offseason, teams must remain under the cap when accounting for the top-51 highest-cap numbers on their roster.
2023 NFL Salary Cap Space by Team
During the early parts of the offseason, and especially in free agency, the salary cap situation for each NFL team changes almost daily. Things have now calmed down somewhat, with fewer major moves being made. However, we could see things shake up after June 1, when teams can spread cap hits for players they release.
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
- Cap Space: $24.3 million
Atlanta Falcons Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $10.7 million
Baltimore Ravens Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $11.5 million
Buffalo Bills Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $1.4 million
Carolina Panthers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $27.2 million
Chicago Bears Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $32.6 million
Cincinnati Bengals Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $14.9 million
Cleveland Browns Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $5.0 million
Dallas Cowboys Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $10.6 million
Denver Broncos Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $7.1 million
Detroit Lions Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $23.7 million
Green Bay Packers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $16.6 million
Houston Texans Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $16.8 million
Indianapolis Colts Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $23.4 million
Jacksonville Jaguars Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $11.2 million
Kansas City Chiefs Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $0.7 million
Las Vegas Raiders Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $3.4 million
Los Angeles Chargers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $12.6 million
Los Angeles Rams Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $1.5 million
Miami Dolphins Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $1.3 million
Minnesota Vikings Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $9.6 million
New England Patriots Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $14.1 million
New Orleans Saints Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $14.3 million
New York Giants Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $3.8 million
New York Jets Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $24.5 million
Philadelphia Eagles Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $13.5 million
Pittsburgh Steelers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $15.7 million
San Francisco 49ers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $10.7 million
Seattle Seahawks Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $7.9 million
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $0.4 million
Tennessee Titans Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $7.7 million
Washington Commanders Salary Cap Space
- Cap Space: $4.1 million
Top 3 NFL Teams in Salary Cap Space
1) Chicago Bears | $32.6 million
It’s been quite an eventful offseason for the Chicago Bears. They traded out of the No. 1 overall pick, adding DJ Moore and further draft assets in the process. Chicago has gone about building their future around Justin Fields, and this offseason has really been the start of this process.
As they will not expect to mount a serious challenge in 2023, look for the Bears to try and roll a reasonably significant amount of cap space across into 2024, when they will hope to be closer to challenging in the NFC.
2) Carolina Panthers | $27.2 million
The Panthers still having more than $25 million of cap space after making some key additions this offseason is fantastic news for the future of the franchise. With the likes of Miles Sanders, Adam Thielen, and Hayden Hurst around rookie QB Bryce Young, there is the start of a solid core for them to build around.
Carolina also invested in their defense and will now look to carry over a significant chunk of cap to next season.
3) New York Jets | $24.4 million
The Jets may well be the most intriguing team in the entire league when it comes to salary cap space. While it won’t be a surprise to see the likes of Chicago, Carolina, and Arizona looking to roll as much cap space into 2024 as possible, the Jets have to be in somewhat of a win-now situation.
After trading for Aaron Rodgers, the Jets have put themselves in a position financially where they could be big players on the veteran market in both the preseason and heading into the trade deadline.
Which NFL Teams Have the Least Salary Cap Space?
1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | $0.4 million
The situation for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is not pretty right now. With Tom Brady still counting for a significant amount of cap space in 2023, the franchise is reasonably hamstrung in terms of what they can do financially. These struggles may last a couple of years for the Buccaneers, who are paying the price for their Super Bowl win with Brady under center.
2) Kansas City Chiefs | $0.7 million
It’s no surprise to see the defending Super Bowl champions near the top of the list when it comes to the least amount of salary cap space in 2023. Any time a team has success, that comes at a price.
What makes this cap number particularly interesting is that the Chiefs have been rumored to be big players in the hunt for DeAndre Hopkins. General manager Brett Veach is going to have to move some money around if Kansas City is serious about adding Hopkins this year.
3) Miami Dolphins | $1.3 million
The Miami Dolphins have seemingly pushed all their chips into the middle and gone all in with their current roster. There’s not a huge amount of wiggle room to add extra assets, but the Dolphins have already proven they’re willing to make bold moves in their search for a Super Bowl.
It will be intriguing to see if GM Chris Grier and HC Mike McDaniel believe the roster needs further high-end additions this season, and if so, how they make the finances work.
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 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.
