After months of negotiations and rumors, we finally know the salary cap number for the 2021 NFL season. The NFL announced that the cap would be $182.5M, slightly higher than the recently-negotiated floor of $180M but a little less than recent rumors suggested ($185M or possibly more). It’s still a significant drop from the 2020 salary cap ($198.2M) and, as you might expect, has put a lot of teams in cap trouble. Ten teams are currently over the cap, with the New Orleans Saints in the worst shape (-$47M).
The Falcons already made a few preemptive cuts, moving on from veteran safety Ricardo Allen, defensive lineman Allen Bailey, and guard James Carpenter.