NFL salary cap set at $133 million for 2014

The NFL salary cap will be $133 million for the 2014 season, according to the NFL Players Association. The figure represents a significant rise from last year’s figure, which was $123 million.

This should be a significant boon for several cash-strapped teams, including the Chiefs, who should now have $9.62 million of space, according to salary cap expert Joel Corry. Prior projections had the 2014 cap coming in at $126 million to $128 million.

Teams are eligible to carry over unused salary cap room from the prior league year at their own discretion, and Corry’s projection for the Chiefs includes a figure of roughly $2.4 million carryover from 2013. The average carryover for the teams that elected to do so was $6.1 million, and NFL teams will have an average of $139.1 million to spend on player salaries.

The cap is calculated by taking a percentage of all projected NFL revenues, subtracting projected benefits for the upcoming season and dividing by 32 teams. Individual clubs are required to spend an average of 89 percent of the salary cap from 2013-16, while clubs league-wide must spend an average of 95 percent of the salary cap over the four-year period.

“This creates a cash-spend floor, forcing historically low-spending clubs to offer overall competitive compensation for packages,” the union said in a statement.

This story was originally published February 28, 2014 at 7:15 PM with the headline "NFL salary cap set at $133 million for 2014."