NFL Rumors: 2025 Salary Cap Not Expected to Make Similar Jump to 2024 After $30M Rise

After the NFL salary cap saw a record increase from 2023 to 2024, it sounds like that will not be the norm going forward.

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported on Thursday that sources said they "don't expect a similar increase in 2025."

The salary cap was raised from $224.8 million to $255.4 million per team, and the 13.6 percent increase is the highest in NFL history. The jump was a welcome development for team owners who were "budgeting for a cap in the range of $240-245 million," per Graziano.

"We were hoping it would get to $250 [million], but we didn't really expect it to," Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. "We were conservatively planning for a number in the 40s. So to get the 255 [million], I was smiling."

Graziano also noted that the increase could've been even higher if some cap space wasn't pushed to 2025.

"In fact, in the negotiations between the league and the NFLPA to finalize this year's cap, an agreement was reached to "float" about $8-10 million of this year's increase into next year," Graziano stated. "Yes, this means that this year's cap could have been as high as $265 million if it were based solely on the raw revenue-production numbers."

The increase in this year's salary cap will substantially benefit players in the star-studded free agency class. Only nine players received a franchise tag before Tuesday's deadline, so there is a slew of players hitting the open market that will draw significant interest from around the NFL.