NFL Salary Cap Up to $188.2 Million for 2019; 6th Consecutive Year of Growth

NFL teams received good news about the salary cap Friday, less than two weeks before the start of free agency. 

Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the league has set the 2019 cap at $188.2 million.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero added this marks an $11 million increase from last season and the sixth consecutive year the salary cap has gone up by at least $10 million.

Per ESPN.com's Dan Graziano, teams also have $40 million in benefit costs, including a new performance-based pay available to players who have at least one accredited season. 

"The total amount allotted per team for performance-based pay is about $7.2 million, and the source said $2.6 million of that would constitute the new 'veteran performance based pay' allotment—money that would allow teams to reward veteran players (as opposed to rookies) who have outperformed their contracts," Graziano wrote. 

Per Spotrac, the Indianapolis Colts ($105.8 million) and New York Jets ($102.1 million) have the most money available to spend this offseason. A total of 15 teams will have at least $30 million in cap space to upgrade their talent roster. 

NFL free agency will begin when the new league year starts March 13 at 4 p.m. ET.