Patriots Are Getting Another Bump in Salary Cap Due to Opt Outs
The New England Patriots got a nice bump in their salary cap due to all the opt outs on their team. Now they are getting another bump.
The management council has informed clubs that signing bonus proration - not just unearned salary and bonuses - will be removed from the 2020 cap immediately upon notification a player is opting out, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero. Because of this, the Patriots’ new salary cap number is $35,282,801, per New England salary cap expert Miguel Benzan.
The six-time Super Bowl champions had the lowest salary cap number in the entire league a little over a week ago. Now they have enough money to sign multiple high-profile free agents if they wish to do so. This is due to the team having a league-high eight opt outs for the 2020 season.
Because starting right tackle Marcus Cannon and Pro Bowl linebacker Dont’a Hightower have opted out of the 2020 season, it would not be surprising to see the Patriots use a good chunk of their newly-found salary cap to sign a couple players to fill the voids at those positions.
The team currently has 72 players on the roster, and can practice as a full team during training with 80 players on the roster. So expect them to make several transactions this week.
