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The threat of a lockout in the 2021 season is gone, but in the short-term, teams are going to be spread slightly thin on their finances in the short term. There are a few factors to contribute to that within the details of the new collective bargaining agreement, approved Sunday morning.
Of course, the defining factor is the salary cap figure for the 2020 season. Originally expected to be about $200 million (the official NFL projection was between $196.8M and $201.2M, with most reports that it would be on the higher side), the NFL announced the number will be set at $198.2 million. That might not seem like a monumental shift, but for a team like the 49ers, who are already limited financially, due to a series of large deals, and are expected to offer massive contract extensions to DeForest Buckner and George Kittle, it does make a difference.
Note: That's slightly lower — about $2 million — than teams were expecting. https://t.co/LH85iEIGUC
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) March 15, 2020
NFL minimum salaries are also rising roughly 20 percent immediately. Due to the NFL’s top-51 rule, only the top 51 players on a roster get accounted for in the salary cap, but that means minimum-level deals will cumulatively rise and cut into that cap space.
What this means in the long term is likely a boon in spending, and the potential that the 49ers, as well as other teams, push money beyond this season as much as possible through extensions and contract restructuring.
Joel Corry, a former agent and NFL cap expert, provided his projections for the franchise tag with the new cap figure. The $17.79 million figure would apply to defensive end Arik Armstead if San Francisco chooses to tag him, with the deadline set for this Monday, March 16 at 9 a.m. PT. That could change if the NFL postpones the deadline, which has happened twice already this offseason.
My projections of franchise tags with $198.2M salary cap.
CB: $16.338M
DE: $17.788M
DT: $16.126M
LB: $15.829M
OL: $14.781M
P/K: $5.105M
QB: $26.824M
RB: $10.278M
S: $11.441M
TE: $10.607M
WR: $17.865M— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) March 15, 2020
