NFL Sets 2023 Salary Cap; Packers Outlook Doesn’t Improve

The NFL on Monday set the 2023 league salary cap at $224.8 million. The Packers aren’t close to being at that number.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jan 30, 2023 3:46 PM EST

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The NFL officially has set the 2023 salary cap at $224.8 million, the league announced on Monday.

For the Green Bay Packers, who face another offseason of salary-cap gymnastics to keep a top-heavy roster inact, the positive is that’s a $16.6 million increase over last season. The bad news is the increase is right on par with projections. For instance, OverTheCap.com had been basing its team-by-team cap numbers on a $225.0 million cap, so it’s not as if the Packers just received the equivalent of inheriting a giant fortune from some long-forgotten relative.

So, what’s the bottom line?

Based on OverTheCap.com’s accounting, the Packers are $16.48 million over the salary cap. Once it gets its draft class under contract, that figure will swell to $20.37 million over the cap.

The alternatives for general manager Brian Gutekunst and his right-hand man, cap guru Russ Ball, are playing Whac-A-Mole and purging the roster of high-priced players or grabbing the credit card and paying for today with tomorrow’s dollars.

The Packers will take Option B, which means kicking the financial can down the road.

“With the way we’re doing things lately, we’ll probably restructure everybody and try to keep making some room,” Gutekunst said with a laugh when asked about Aaron Jones’ contract.

Jones is the perfect example of what’s to come.

Jones, who is coming off a season in which he set career highs for rushing yards and receptions, will be entering the third season of a four-year, $48 million contract. His cap number is set to creep past $20 million for the 2023 season.

However, the Packers can practically wave a magic wand and make that number disappear via a simple restructure. Ball can slash Jones’ base salary of $8.1 to the league minimum of $1.165 million. That $6.935 million difference along with a $7 million roster bonus can be turned into signing bonus, which can be prorated over the final years of his contract (2023 and 2024) and the void years (2025 and 2026) were added as part of last year’s restructure.

Just like that, the Packers could create about $10.5 million of cap space and Jones would pocket every penny of his contract. That’s great news for now but bad news for the future because, at some point, the credit card comes due.

By doing simple restructures with Jones, David Bakhtiari and others, the Packers could get as far as $39.2 million under the cap, according to Over the Cap.

Gutekunst might have to be that aggressive so there’s money to make some moves, whether it’s re-signings or veteran additions, in free agency. A potential trade of Aaron Rodgers would add another $8.69 million to Green Bay’s overage.

As it stands, only eight teams are in worse shape cap-wise than the Packers. That includes the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings, who are $25.73 million over the cap.

Having less room to breathe under the cap than three-fourths of the NFL is really the key the number. That means they’ll be in a worse bargaining position for any free agent it wants, whether it’s re-signing Keisean Nixon or going out and upgrading a position of need.