NFL sets salary cap at $198.2 million for 2020

It's been a busy Sunday morning across the NFL. For starters, the players approved the new CBA, which will impact the league through the 2030 season. According to the NFLPA, the ratification vote was approved by the players by a vote of 1,019 to 959. While there's still a lot to figure out there and sift through, the next thing was regarding the league's salary cap for 2020.

Per the league, the new figure will be set at $198.2 million. For the New Orleans Saints, this means they currently sit with roughly $7.5 million in space ahead of the new league year. That figure is comprised of their Top 51 projection from Over The Cap, which comes in at $190.75 million. This is a 5.3 percent rise year over year, as last year's number was at $188.2 million. Initial projections for the salary cap were at the $200 million range towards the end of February, but obviously fell short.

There's several factors to consider when it comes to how the Saints will tackle free agency, with the first being if the league decides to postpone the start of it due to the emerging threats and cases of COVID-19. Sean Payton said on Saturday that he believes these events could impact free agency, thinking that it could be pushed back, and the draft format could possibly change. From a business standpoint, the Saints have yet to announce a new contract between them and Drew Brees, which seems like a good indicator of the ball starting to roll for the front office. They also have in-house decisions they can make to create more cap space, and we'll also have to see how things play out with Taysom Hill.

Be sure to check out our 2020 free agency guide, which talks about some of the potential targets the Saints could eye and an overview of what they're working with.