The Bills still have plenty of work to do to get under the cap — but around $13 million less than predicted
The NFL announced Friday, February 23 that the 2024 salary cap will $255.4 million per team. The news was first shared by Tom Pelissero, who also noted that there will be “an additional $74 million per club payment for player benefits, which includes Performance Based Pay and benefits for retired players.”
The biggest takeaway here is that the actual number is significantly higher than had been projected. Thus, the most important news as it relates to the Buffalo Bills is that they now have less financial burden to shed to get under the coming season’s cap.
The NFL announced today that the 2024 Salary Cap will be $255.4 million per club, with an additional $74 million per club payment for player benefits, which includes Performance Based Pay and benefits for retired players.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 23, 2024
Prior to Friday’s news, the figure bandied about was of a $242.5 million cap projection. As such, general manager Brandon Beane and the front office immediately have better than $13 million wiped from their overage.
So, instead of One Bills Drive being $54 million over the 2024 cap, they are now “just” $41 million over this coming season’s cap. Yes, the bad news is that they’re still over the cap ceiling even with this news. But now they’re $13 million closer to being in compliance — without having made any moves to clear cap space.
How Beane and company proceed following this development remains to be seen. Will they now be able to re-sign one of the free agents many expect were headed out the door? Players such as defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, edge rusher Leonard Floyd, and even safety Taylor Rapp could be among the strong candidates to return to One Bills Drive, if that’s the case.