Ahead of free agency, evaluating Detroit Lions' cap situation for 2025 and beyond
Perhaps you caught the news last week. The NFL's salary cap continued its sharp rise, reaching $279.2 million for the upcoming season. That marks a 9.3% increase following last year's 13.6% jump. It means the league's 32 teams will collectively have $761 million more to spend on player contracts this season.
Even before the ceiling was raised, the Detroit Lions had a healthy cap situation. Following a roster dismantling that coincided with general manager Brad Holmes's arrival in 2021, the team has patiently built through the draft, with savvy additions through trades and free agency the past couple of seasons.
With this year's signing period arriving next week, now is an ideal time to examine Detroit's immediate and future cap position in greater depth to better understand the team's spending power heading into the new league year.
Let's start with some basics before diving into what it all means.
Calculating current cap space
As established, this year's cap is $279.2 million. To determine the remaining space, we must deduct salaries and lingering dead money from players who have been cut or were on expiring contracts with void years, plus add in the unused cap space from the previous season, which rolls over.