NFL announces record-breaking $301.2M salary cap for 2026 season

The NFL's new year is a little over 13 days away, with the league's free agency tampering period set to begin on March 9. Last February, the NFL announced a record-breaking salary cap of $279.2 million for the 2025 season, a significant increase from the 2024 cap of $255.4 million.

Now, Brian McCarthy reports that the NFL informed front offices today that the 2026 salary cap will be $301 million per team. The Eagles are very good at roster building, and when you succeed, you risk losing talent and having to retool. Last offseason, Philadelphia lost Josh Sweat, Darius Slay, Milton Williams, Isaiah Rodgers, and several other key free agents from the Super Bowl championship team. This off-season, the focus will be on retaining and signing key players from a Championship defense to long-term deals.

NFL clubs were informed today that the salary cap for the ’26 season will jump $22 million per club to $301.2 million. Add in another $77.6m in benefits & that’s $378.8m per club in player spending. Tremendous growth pic.twitter.com/cQ5Zf3aGVW

— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) February 27, 2026

During his end-of-season press conference, Howie Roseman offered insight into the process, what takes place, and how the pendulum will swing toward the defense. Dallas Goedert, Nakobe Dean, Reed Blankenship, Jaelan Phillips, Adoree' Jackson, Marcus Epps, Fred Johnson, Brandon Graham, and Jahan Dotson are among 20 free agents who'll hit the open market. Dean and Phillips are the only two with hold priority, and both would depart depending on market conditions.

Still, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo, and others are just a few of the defenders GM Howie Roseman wants to keep around long term.

A current look via Over The Cap shows the Eagles have $16,062,388 available to roll over to 2026 and $50 million in dead cap space, while the Titans, Chargers, and Raiders all have over $90 million in total cap space for March.

This article originally appeared on Eagles Wire: NFL announces a $301.2M salary cap for 2026 season