NFL salary cap set, Saints still vastly over the mark

Over the past couple of weeks, the New Orleans Saints have been making moves to try to get the team below the cap number. On top of that, they are trying to get under the cap enough to be able to reach out and sign a quarterback or bring back Jameis Winston.

Until now, the number has just been speculation, but it was thought to be between $175-185 million. Well, the number did end up falling between those two numbers, but it also fell almost eight percent from what it was last season.

Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic and lost revenue from the league and teams has contributed to the loss of the salary cap. The NFL has set the 2021 salary cap at $182.5 million, a year that will hopefully be much more fiscally efficient for the league.

The NFL has finally released the number to NFL teams that they have to be under in salary, and the Saints are still vastly over that mark.

According to John Hendrix from New Orleans Saints si.com, the Saints’ current cap updated as of March 10, 2021, is $239.9 million. That would put the Saints still roughly over the new cap mark set by the NFL by $57.4 million.

They still have a long way to go to get down another $57 million, but they are on the right track. The team is expected to release Kwon Alexander, which will free up another $13 million with no dead cap hit, as well as look into trade a couple of other players.

They are going to have to aim at not only the $182.5 million marks, but also to get down enough to be able to offer free agent Jameis Winston a sizeable starting quarterback contract as well. However, it is all in the works and will unfold in the coming weeks leading up to the free agency.

Hopefully, the salary cap will rise again next season at the league and teams will see a rise in attendance and in-game purchases. That should in turn lead the NFL and NFLPA to raise the number back up to where it was next season.