The NFL has informed teams of the 2021 salary cap of $182.5 million

As the NFL’s franchise tag deadline loomed on Tuesday, teams were beginning to get a sense of what the NFL salary cap would be for the 2021 season. With the negotiated floor of $175 million last fall reset up to $180 million following the season, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting teams are being informed the salary cap for the 2021 season will be $182.5 million.

With the 2020 season operating under a salary cap of $198.2 million, the reduction of almost $16 million is the first time the salary cap has dropped in the NFL since it’s implementation in 1994.

With the legal tampering period for free agency set to begin on Monday, March 15 followed by the new league year kicking off on Wednesday, March 17, NFL teams will now kick their roster moves even more into overdrive than what has been seen over the last several days.

According to OverTheCap.com, there are 10 NFL teams who are currently over the $182.5 million cap. As for the Steelers, OTC has them currently $5,307,086 underneath the salary cap at the present time. This calculation also does not take into account the report of Derek Watt restructuring his contract and saving $880k.

Now having a number to work with, the Pittsburgh Steelers will likely get their business into overdrive as they both work to reduce their salary cap as well as sign any possible players from the 2020 roster before the league year begins.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers as they prepare for the new league year, NFL Free Agency and the 2021 NFL Draft.