What NFL's Stunning New Salary Cap Means for Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars and the rest of the NFL are playing with a new deck of cards.

Nov 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Get ready to back up the Brinks truck.

The NFL is set to see the salary cap take another major leap this offseason, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, and the Jacksonville Jaguars can benefit from it in a big way.

Cap Leap

According to Pelissero, the NFL has informed teams that the 2026 salary cap is set to be increased by over $20 million, another big leap from just a year ago.

"The NFL informed clubs today it is projecting a 2026 salary cap in the range of $301.2 million to $305.7 million per club, per source. That would represent another significant jump from this year’s $279.2 million cap number, and nearly $100M than the $208.2M cap in 2022," Pelissero said.

The NFL informed clubs today it is projecting a 2026 salary cap in the range of $301.2 million to $305.7 million per club, per source.

That would represent another significant jump from this year’s $279.2 million cap number, and nearly $100M than the $208.2M cap in 2022. pic.twitter.com/3Mr146H01C

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2026

Simply put, this is a boon for teams like the Jaguars who need some cap relief. The Jaguars have several moves they can make to free up cap space so they can be aggressive in March and beyond, but the Jaguars rank No. 24 in cap space today as a result of big deals signed during the season with Jakobi Meyers and Cole Van Lanen, on top of another year of Trevor Lawrence's big pay-day from a year ago.

By increasing the cap to this extent, the Jaguars will have a relatively stress-free transition into the offseason. There are plenty of ways the Jaguars can clear space between restructures and post-June 1st releases, and the cap increase will help with the dead money the Jaguars have on the table with Tyson Campbell and others.

Nov 23, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars general manager James Gladstone against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The Jaguars have some clear needs they need to address this offseason, most importantly at cornerback and defensive line. With a bump in the cap, the Jaguars now know just what moves they need to make to set themselves up for success and just how aggressive they can be.

It could also give the Jaguars guidance on any contract extensions they want to consider. With the cap increasing to this degree, the Jaguars can now project what it will look like even more accurately over the coming years as players like Travon Walker, Parker Washington, Brenton Strange, and Anton Harrison

Jan 4, 2026; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars executive vice president of football operations Tony Boselli and general manager James Gladstone look on after the game against the Tennessee Titans at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Travis Register-Imagn Images | Travis Register-Imagn Images

This won't change anything for the Jaguars when it comes to their core principles and how it pertains to the offseason. Just because the cap is going up doesn't mean the Jaguars are about to start burning money. But even with that in mind, this is a very good thing for the Jaguars.

Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Jaguars when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news.  SIGN UP HERE NOW.

Follow us on X (Twitter) @JaguarsOnSI and @_John_Shipley and make sure you like our Facebook page, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.