Cowboys among 14 teams over projected 2023 salary cap of $224.8M
The NFL has informed clubs of their projected working room when it comes to the 2023 season. Each year, the league projects where the salary cap ceiling will land. Based on a formula of shared revenue among the 32 teams, television deals and the like, the salary cap in the NFL is a hard cap that does not allow any team to use above the threshold.
During the offseason, the Rule of 51 is in place. Teams can have up to 90 players on their roster through the first part of training camp, so only the top 51 contracts count towards the cap. This is in addition to any “dead money” that remains from players no longer on the roster but who still had unallocated cap space remaining from their prior contracts. Teams are allowed to roll over unused cap space from one year to the next, adding to each team’s total. When all of that is configured, Dallas is one of 14 teams currently over the threshold, according to Over The Cap.
Teams have until the start of the new league year (calendar here) to be in compliance. Right now the Cowboys are using 49 of those 51 slots. Here’s their current roster.
Once the regular season starts, all 53 players on the active roster and injured reserve, plus the dead money, all count towards the cap. For this reason, teams like to have at least $5 million in cap space to make midseason acquisitions. Here’s a look at the cap space for all 32 teams, in order, as of January 30.
Chicago Bears -
Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $91,833,199
Atlanta Falcons -
Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $56,414,855
New York Giants -
[Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $44,727,461
Cincinnati Bengals -
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $43,719,058
Houston Texans -
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $39,289,053
New England Patriots -
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $32,636,047
Seattle Seahawks -
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $31,040,644
Baltimore Ravens -
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $26,867,479
Las Vegas Raiders -
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $22,080,338
San Francisco 49ers -
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $16,398,516
Arizona Cardinals -
(Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $14,467,205
Kansas City Chiefs -
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $13,997,884
Detroit Lions -
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $13,825,618
Indianapolis Colts -
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $13,071,832
Denver Broncos -
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $9,206,724
Washington Commanders -
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $6,649,246
Philadelphia Eagles -
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $4,235,666
Pittsburgh Steelers -
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): $1,028,747
New York Jets -
Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$2,793,498
Dallas Cowboys -
(AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker)
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$5,303,002
Carolina Panthers -
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$8,938,728
Los Angeles Rams -
(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$14,194,570
Cleveland Browns -
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$14,645,606
Miami Dolphins -
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$16,453,222
Green Bay Packers -
Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$16,483,743
Buffalo Bills -
Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$19,612,436
Los Angeles Chargers -
Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$20,381,524
Jacksonville Jaguars -
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$22,217,686
Minnesota Vikings -
(Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$23,251,507
Tennessee Titans -
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$23,623,634
Tampa Bay Buccaneers -
Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$55,033,921
New Orleans Saints -
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Estimated Cap Space (as of 1/30/23): -$58,596,996
