The NFL must have hit a few jackpots during Super Bowl 2024 week in Las Vegas.
The salary cap for the 2024 season received a historic bump and is set at $255.4 million per team, the league announced Friday.
The new number marks an unprecedented year-over-year increase of $30.6 million and puts the cap at more than double where it was about a decade ago ($123 million in 2013).
The number, which is about $10 million to $13 million more than previous estimations, is the “result of the full repayment of all amounts advanced by the clubs and deferred by the players during the COVID pandemic as well as an extraordinary increase in media revenue for the 2024 season,” according to the league.
There will be an additional $74 million per team available for player benefits, including Performance Based Pay bonuses and benefits for retired players, as part of the approximately 48 percent of league revenues awarded to players.
“Welcome to the new era of gambling being accepted in the NFL,” said former NFL general manager Randy Mueller, an analyst for The Athletic. “Players should thank [commissioner] Roger Goodell for new international exposure and leaning into the wagering world. It has increased the pie for players to unheard of heights.”