Lions flush with cap space after NFL’s giant salary increase
The Detroit Lions are flush with salary cap space with free agency set to open in a little over two weeks.
The NFL announced a significant increase in its salary cap for 2024 on Friday, allotting each team $255.4 million. Last year, the cap was $224.8 million.
In a news release, the NFL said the increase of more than $30 million was due to “the result of the 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.”
The Lions currently have about $171 million in cap commitments for 2024, a number that will increase once proven performance escalators for Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeill are factored in. Including another $23 million in dead cap money, the Lions project to open the new league year with $63.7 million in cap room, eighth most in the NFL according to OverTheCap.com.
The Washington Commanders, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears all have more than $80 million in cap space.
In the NFC North, the Minnesota Vikings also sit comfortably under the cap with $37.8 million in cap room, though they do not have a starting quarterback under contract for 2024, while the Green Bay Packers are about $8 million under the cap.
Lions general manager Brad Holmes indicated after the season the Lions will not be big players in free agency but will look to sign some of their young nucleus to long-term contracts instead.
St. Brown, McNeill and All-Pro right tackle Penei Sewell are eligible for contract extensions for the first time this offseason, and the Lions are expected to sign quarterback Jared Goff to a new long-term deal.
Goff, St. Brown and Sewell all should rank among the highest-paid players at their positions once their deal is done.
On Tuesday, the Lions cut safety Tracy Walker, a move that created about $5.5 million in cap space.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.