Free agency is set to open in just a few weeks, and nothing signals that it's right around the corner like the NFL setting the salary cap for this season.
That's exactly what happened on Friday, with the league increasing the cap by $30 million, which is significantly larger than expected. We all figured the cap was going to go up this year, but that big of a jump is not only a sign of how great the league is doing but it helps out teams like the Buccaneers in ways we couldn't have anticipated.
No matter what the Bucs were in line to get some extra cap space, but this new figure might help them out even more than before.
Updated Tampa Bay Buccaneers salary cap space in 2024
Before the cap figure was set, the number was projected to be closer to $242 million. Instead, the NFL has set this year's cap at $255.4 million, which created over $10 million in new space for the Bucs to play with.
Buccaneers cap space before | New Buccaneers cap space |
|---|---|
$32M | $45.5M |
It's impossible to overstate how siginficant this increase is.
The Buccaneers came into this offseason with three key objectives: Re-sign Antoine Winfield Jr., Baker Mayfield, and Mike Evans.
Of those three, Evans has always seemed like the biggest wild card as he wants to get paid like a top receiver in the league and there seem to be plenty of teams willing to do that. The Chiefs, Jets, and Texans have long been connected to a potential deal for Evans with the Lions and Panthers in there as well.
It's always seemed like the Bucs would let Evans hit the open market to set a price and then see if they're willing to match it. With this newly created cap space, it's more likely that Tampa Bay will be willing to match a large contract offer from another team.
We'll have to wait and see how things play out, and a higher cap likely means bigger offers for Evans, but there's a higher likelihood of him returning than there was yesterday.