NFL Salary Cap Space explained: How much money can each team spend this offseason?

It’s time again when teams do everything they can to get the NFL salary cap. Find out where your team stands and how cover really works.
The salary cap has long been a big topic in the NFL as teams figure out who they might have to cut or how much they can pay for a certain player. The NFL was looking to see how much they could offer teams due to earnings earned in the past calendar year.
The NFL sets the salary cap at $224.8 million per team in 2023. This is up from the $208.2 million it was in 2022.
Now, that might seem like a lot of money for NFL teams to be able to play with, but when it all comes down to it, it might not be as much as you think.
How is the NFL salary cap broken down?
The salary cap is divided into four main sections: Cap Space, Effective Cap Space, Active Cap Spending, and Dead Money. It will all be explained here shortly. These four categories are always updated as trades, releases, and signatures happen. Categories will also play a huge role when it comes to owners and general managers who want the best names out there in free agency.
Here is a breakdown of the four categories:
active spending: This is how much money a team actually spends on its players for the year in contacts, signing bonuses, and other incentives.
dead money Fully guaranteed money goes to players who have been cut or traded from the team.
cover area: This is the amount of money a team has after the team salary cap minus active spending. Then dead money is subtracted from that total, which will then give you plenty of room for the team.
Effective cover area: How much money should the team really spend?
The NFL has a salary cap to level the playing field. It also ensures that the NFL team does not take unnecessary financial risks.
How much salary cap does each NFL team have right now?
Here’s a breakdown of Effective Cap Space now per team per overthecap.com:
Bears: $86,579,461Falcons: $61,297,193Bengals: $32,026,683Raiders: $30,881,318Texans: $29,094,959Patriots: $27,792,433Cardinals: $18,988,613Giants: $15,317,128Seahawks: $12,676,704Packers: $12,494,324Commanders: $12,009,673Chiefs: $11,185,252Lions: $11,123,793Titans: $8,159,226Broncos: $8,017,458Colts: $4,311,921Jaguars: $4,276,63349ers: $3,891,088Panthers: $2,352,574Eagles: -$1,711,965Jets: -$2,195,598Steelers: -$5,283,124Ravens: -$11,632,435Browns: -$15,796,696Rams: -$17,391,980Vikings: -$18,262,910Cowboys: -$18,987,464Bills: -$21,945,261Dolphins: -$22,554,774Chargers: – $24,341,242 Saints: – $28,305,248 Bikinis: – $52,256,525
All teams over the cap, with a negative in cap space, have until March 15 to join the cap before free agency officially opens.