NFL Rumors: Salary Cap 'A Real Concern' for Teams Entering 2021 Free Agency

The potential dip of the 2021 salary cap is reportedly a "real concern" for teams ahead of the free-agency period. 

"It's a real concern," said one league executive told Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. "There are major impacts teams are gonna feel over the next month that they aren't used to."

The cap is currently projected at around $180 million, a dip of around $18 million from the 2020 season. The NFL lost significant revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic, owing a significant chunk to lost gate receipts.

Teams typically plan their cap sheets to assume a year-to-year rise in the salary cap, which has only decreased one time since being implemented (2011 lockout season).

"I think the lingering impact of the pandemic on the National Football League is the salary cap will have a big impact not only on the Chiefs but all 32 NFL franchises," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt told reporters. "I hope that by the time we get to the season we're talking about largely full stadiums, but there's no guarantees on that."

The cap drop could give a significant advantage to teams that set themselves to have space heading into the 2021 offseason, as there could be a depressed market for free agents. The Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots are all set to have at least $60 million in space available this offseason.

Teams like the New Orleans Saints ($69 million over the cap), Philadelphia Eagles ($49 million) and Atlanta Falcons ($31.7 million) will all have difficult roster decisions to make and could be forced to cut elite contributors.