The New Orleans Saints entered the 2025 offseason in a familiar spot: the team with the least salary cap space in the league. New Orleans was initially projected to be more than $50 million over the salary cap. However, that number was only a projection, because the league and the NFLPA have to meet to determine the actual salary cap.
Now, both sides have met and officially agreed on a record salary cap. On Thursday, it was announced that the 2025 salary cap will be $279.2 million. That’s an increase of more than $20 million from last season, and continues the league’s astronomical growth.
While that number benefits every team, it’s especially great for the Saints, because they’re no longer projected to be $50 million over the cap. With the official number set, New Orleans is $47 million over the cap.
Saints cap space for 2025
Of course, $47 million is still a lot of money, and New Orleans will still have its work cut out as it works to become a cap compliant team. However, the salary cap increasing beyond expectations saves New Orleans a couple of tough moves it would’ve had to make to get under the salary cap. Those few millions that may seem minimal could be the difference between cutting a player or not.
Now that the number is set, the Saints can map out what exactly they need to do to get under the cap. Of course, the team still has to consider cutting some beloved players, but the process will likely start with contract restructures. With the news that Derek Carr is expected to stick around for another year, the Saints could open up a ton of space by restructuring his deal.
After New Orleans finishes scouting players in Indianapolis, it’ll turn its attention to restructuring contracts— an annual offseason tradition for the Saints.