The NFL Is Charging Into the Era of the $300 Million Salary Cap

 

Teams have a record amount of cash to spend this offseason. The only problem is that they’re staring at an unusually shallow pool of free agents.

 

By Andrew Beaton

March 4, 2026 9:00 am ET

At quarterback, Malik Willis is the prize of the free-agent class even though he has a limited track record of success. Patrick Mcdermott/Getty Images

 

The Las Vegas Raiders entered this NFL offseason armed with the types of assets that could quickly turn around a floundering franchise. 

They’re now led by Klint Kubiak, the brains behind the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl-winning offense, as their new head coach. They hold the No. 1 pick in the draft, which is widely expected to be used on Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. And they have nearly $90 million in room under the salary cap to spend on new players. 

But with the cap soaring to $301.2 million per team next season—nearly double what it was a decade ago—teams like the Raiders are running into a new kind of problem. When free agency begins next week, there simply won’t be many good players to spend all that cash on. 

This year’s free agent class is widely viewed as unusually thin. And the pool will only get shallower by the time the market opens as teams re-sign their own players. That odd set of circumstances means that the few stars who are available may be able to land eye-popping contracts while some lesser known players will inevitably command surprising sums. 

What hasn’t changed is that teams view the next two months as foundational opportunities to transform their rosters.

“We’ve got a lot of needs to address,” said Raiders general manager John Spytek, “and we’ve got a lot of capital to do it.”

The Titans and Raiders are the teams with the most cap space—and plenty of holes to fill. Neither of them finished last season with more than three victories. To get a sense of just how much money could be floating around this offseason, it’s helpful to remember that the 10 teams with the most space have more than $600 million in cap room between them, according to the salary tracking website Over the Cap. 

All of that available cash means that it’s never been better to be someone like linebacker Jaelan Phillips. 

In a weak free agent class, Phillips’s upside makes him stand out. A midseason trade acquisition from the Miami Dolphins, Phillips was a chaos agent for a Philadelphia Eagles defense that was one of the best units in the NFL. Moreover, he’s still just 26 years old so his most productive years may still be ahead of him. 

That puts him in a position to cash in—even if he’s far from perfect. Despite his success consistently pressuring opposing quarterbacks, he only had five sacks last year. He also missed most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons due to serious injuries.

Eagles linebacker Jaelan Phillips in a position to cash in on the free-agent market. Eric Hartline/Imagn Images/Reuters

 

Most of the other high-profile names on the market come with question marks, too. If the Cincinnati Bengals allow defensive end Trey Hendrickson to walk, he could score the biggest deal in all of free agency at a point in his career when he’s hardly a sure bet. After he led the NFL with 17.5 sacks in 2024, he played just seven games last year due to injuries. Plus, he’s already 31 years old. 

At quarterback, Malik Willis is the prize of the class even though he has a limited track record of success. After struggling with the Tennessee Titans coming out of college, he performed brilliantly during limited duty as a backup with the Packers over the past couple of years. Still, he was limited to a grand total of 89 pass attempts. 

Regardless, Willis is likely to land a handsome payday, due to the scarcity of desirable passers and the number of teams that badly need one. 

“Any team that is potentially in a needy quarterback situation…if they tell you they’re not talking about Malik Willis, that would be a lie,” said Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, who came from the Packers front office.

Ravens running back Derrick Henry runs with the ball as center Tyler Linderbaum blocks. Stephanie Scarbrough/Associated Press

 

The one player with few doubts around him is Tyler Linderbaum. Just 25 years old, he was among the best centers in the NFL last year for the Baltimore Ravens. And his market figures to be especially robust not only because of his talent, but also because he’s by far the best available offensive lineman. 

Which is why Linderbaum can safely expect to hold a new distinction next week, no matter where he lands: the NFL’s highest paid center. 

“We’ve made him a market-setting offer,” Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta said, “and hopefully we can get something done.”

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Appeared in the March 6, 2026, print edition as 'As NFL Free Agency Begins, Salary Cap Soars to $300 Million'.