Expected salary cap rise favorable for the Atlanta Falcons

Very early reports in December indicated that the NFL salary cap was expected to rise between $196.8 million and $201.2 million for the 2020 season. According to the NFL's Tom Pelissero, the final amount appears headed for the higher end of that range.

Pelissero reported at the NFL combine that the salary cap is expected to increase to "roughly $200 million." The new CBA still needs to be ratified as of Tuesday morning, but the large increase in the salary cap is coming in large part because of the proposed playoff expansion.

The NFL salary cap sat at $188.2 million in 2019. The cap in the league has increased by at least $10 million each season for the last seven years.

The 2019 salary cap was $188.2 million, so another $10M+ jump. Whether, and how much more, the salary cap would rise in 2020 under a new CBA would depend on whether that additional revenue is counted towards salary cap or benefits.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 28, 2020

While it would be understandable for Falcons fans to feel strongly against expanding the postseason to seven teams (it's not a good idea), raising the salary cap as high as possible would be the biggest benefit for Atlanta.

Raising the cap helps every team spend more, but it's particularly useful to the teams that don't have a lot of cap space from the previous season. The Falcons are one of those teams.

As of March 3, the Falcons have the third-least amount of cap space in the NFL and are one of just three teams with under $10 million in space according to Spotrac.com. Counting only the Top 51 players, the Falcons possess about $4.5 million in space.

Spotrac reached that total assuming the 2020 NFL salary cap would be $199 million. The calculation also included the approximately $5.5 million of 2019 rollover cap the Falcons will be able to use.

Pelissero's report that the 2020 NFL salary cap will be "roughly $200 million" could very well mean the cap ends up at $199 million. But should it be above $199 million, then the Falcons will have even more space than the $4.5 million Spotrac estimates the team has entering free agency.

Obviously, that's a good thing. The Falcons don't have much of a chance to re-sign tight end Austin Hooper, but the team could use the extra space to find his replacement or continue to shore up its defense. The Falcons will also lose edge rusher Vic Beasley in free agency, as the team announced in February that it was not going to bring back the linebacker.

Hooper is likely to receive a contract worth about $10 million annually, so to sign him in Atlanta long term, the Falcons will need more than the salary cap rising higher than expected. Still, the news surrounding the NFL 2020 salary cap has been just about all good for Atlanta.

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