What the NFL's salary cap increase means for the Buccaneers

The NFL salary cap increases every year, of course, and that cap is dictated by a percentage of the NFL's yearly revenue. The cap jump in 2024 was a larger one than anticipated, and it looks like the same will be true in 2025.

ESPN's Dan Graziano reported Wednesday that the NFL salary cap is set to land somewhere between $277.5 million dollars to $281.5 million dollars — a bigger increase than expected, as many had the number projected in the low 270s. As a result, the salary cap has increased by more than $53 million in the last two years.

The NFL today informed teams that the 2025 per-team salary cap will fall in the range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million, way up from last year's $255.4 million. Cap will have increased by more than $53 million over the last two years.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) February 19, 2025

This increases the cap ceiling for every NFL team, and it gives everyone some more money to work with. One of those NFL teams is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and we here at BucsGameday happen to cover that team, so today, we're looking to answer the big question that comes with this news:

How does this salary cap increase affect the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Technically, of course, a bigger salary cap helps everybody. But it definitely helps teams that are near the bottom of the NFL's salary cap space, because it increases their buying power by a significant amount. Teams like the New England Patriots already had over $100 million to spend in free agency and were going to be very aggressive anyway, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the 23rd-most cap space in the NFL.

After the reported jump, the Over the Cap suggests that the Buccaneers now have closer to $8.5 million in cap space, which is proportionally a big leap from where it was if the cap was around $272 million like OTC first suggested. That would bring Tampa Bay's estimated space from $1,399,732 to $8,399,732, which is a huge jump proportionally compared to teams that already had a ton of space to begin with.

Fox NFL broadcaster and former NFL quarterback Tom Brady speaks to Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

As a result, the Bucs benefit decently from this. Teams that are floundering with negative cap space (we all know the team you're thinking about) have to do less work to get in the green, and teams like the Bucs have a few million more dollars to spend when it comes to free agency — and re-signing players they already have.

This increase could be big when it comes to re-signing someone like Chris Godwin, where a few extra million dollars could go a long way in convincing him to stay in Tampa Bay instead of moving his family. Additionally, linebacker Lavonte David, for example, has been playing on very small one-year deals the past few seasons. A potential $7 million increase (or more) could be just what it takes to fit him in the plan for 2025.

So at the end of the day, general manager Jason Licht and the Buccaneers front office are likely cheering for this one. It's a significant increase, and in a game of inches on and off the field, it could make a big difference somewhere in free agency.

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