KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Chiefs and the rest of the NFL will have a bit more to spend on players this season.
The NFL salary cap for teams has increased for the 2024 season from $224.8 million to $255.4 million, marking a $30 million increase. This is the highest year-to-year cap increase in at least the past 30 years of the NFL and likely the highest in NFL history.
Teams will also get an additional $74 million for player benefits, which includes Performance Based Pay and benefits for retired players.
Total 2024 player costs will be $329.4 million per club or more than $10.5 billion league-wide.
The reason for the increase is the result of full repayment of all amounts advanced by the clubs and deferred by the players during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an extraordinary increase in media revenue for the 2024 season.
Super Bowl LVIII was the most-watched telecast in U.S. television history, and the NFL made up 93 of 2023's top 100 most-watched U.S. TV broadcasts.
An increase in the cap could help the Chiefs with some potential free agents this offseason as well since they are now around $28 million under the cap. The NFL’s new league year begins March 13.
Cornerback L'Jarius Sneed and defensive tackle Chris Jones are the two top potential free agents for the Chiefs who will both demand high dollar amounts for their next contract.
Regardless of the salary cap, the Chiefs have shown themselves to have tight pockets as an organization, which resulted in Jones holding out all of the offseason and the first game of the season.
