How Patriots can cash in on ‘unprecedented' NFL salary cap increase
How Patriots can cash in on ‘unprecedented' NFL salary cap increase originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots will have even more "cash to burn" than expected.
The NFL announced Friday that each club's 2024 salary cap will be set at $255.4 million, a massive $30 million increase from 2023 that the league described as "unprecedented."
NFL said the “unprecedented $30 million increase per club in this year’s Salary Cap 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… https://t.co/K5YlJV48DK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 23, 2024
That's obviously great news for every NFL team, but especially for the Patriots, who enter the offseason with critical needs at high-paying positions like quarterback, wide receiver and offensive line.
New England already was projected to have roughly $75 million in cap space -- second-most in the NFL behind the Washington Commanders -- but that number has jumped to $82.9 million thanks to the expanded salary cap, according to OverTheCap. If the team releases troubled cornerback J.C. Jackson, Eliot Wolf and the front office could have more than $100 million in cap space, per Patriots cap expert Miguel Benzan.
Reminder - Releasing J.C. Jackson would increase my projection for the Patriots salary cap space number by $13.46M to over $100M since a player with a $915K salary will take his place on the Top 51 list.
— Miguel Benzan projects Pats Cap Space to be 87.3M (@patscap) February 23, 2024
For context, the Patriots entered 2021 free agency with roughly $69.1 million in cap space and proceeded with the largest spending spree in franchise history, handing out more than $125 million in guaranteed money to outside linebacker Matt Judon, wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, defensive tackle Davon Godchaux and cornerback Jalen Mills.
If the team releases Jackson, it could have roughly $30 million more in cap space than that 2021 offseason, which could result in an even bigger splurge. So, how should the Patriots spend that extra cash? Our Patriots Insider Phil Perry recently laid out an eight-part free agency plan that includes the following moves:
Sign free agent WR Calvin Ridley
Re-sign OL Mike Onwenu
Sign free agent OT Jonah Williams
Re-sign TE Hunter Henry
Sign free agent QB Jacoby Brissett
Sign free agent DE Danielle Hunter
Sign free agent CB Kendall Fuller
Franchise tag S Kyle Dugger
Those moves all could be done on a budget of under $90 million, so the extra cash could allow New England to lock up other pending free agents like Bourne, who recently told our Tom E. Curran he wants to remain with the team.
Of course, an increased salary cap means free agents will seek more lucrative deals, in which case the Patriots may not have significantly more money to spend. But it's clear they'll be flush with cash entering free agency and will need to spend it wisely as they aim to overhaul a roster that went 4-13 last season.