According to a report from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport, the league’s salary cap in 2022 is expected to jump more than $20 million and top $208 million. The depressed salary cap figures of 2021 and 2022 were negotiated between the NFL and NFL Players Association following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when revenues were down and stadiums were empty. The two-year span was designed to spread out the pain until a hopeful return to normal financials in 2023.
With the move to a 17-game season and massive new television deals, the NFL is more financially lucrative than ever before, even with the limited COVID-19 restrictions still in place.