The NFL, together with the league's Players Association, have settled the salary-cap ceiling for the 2022 season. A source confirmed that executives and players have agreed to a maximum of $208.2 million per team.

The agreement is part of the continued effort of the NFL in projecting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its short-term business.

According to ESPN, the team owners of the NFL shared that the agreement, which was approved on Wednesday afternoon, does not mean that the 2022 salary cap will be $208.2 million. The salary-cap ceiling only means that it will be the highest amount that it could possibly reach.

It's Payback Time

It is still possible that the 2022 revenue projections and the 2021 revenue of the league shortfalls and could result in a lower cap. If the revenue-based 2022 calculations call for a cap higher than $208.2 million, any excess money in the revenue will be allotted to pay back the close to $17 million 2020 player benefits that were previously canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.

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Meanwhile, the salary cap for 2021 is already settled at $182.5 per team. It is significantly lower compared to the 2020 cap number of $198.2 million per team after being affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The cap number for 2021 is based on the projected revenue of the league for the upcoming season and the revenue lost in 2020 because of the global health crisis, which kept fans away from stadiums.

Moreover, before the pandemic halted the NFL and other sports, the cap had been increasing to almost $10 million annually. If the pace continued, the cap for the 2021 season would have been around $208 million, and in 2022, the cap will be about $218 million.

This means that even if the 2022 salary cap reached $208.2, still the cap growth was delayed and caught up to its pace before the pandemic. But it would still be a 14% increase from the 2021 cap, the highest one-year jump in the close to 30-year history of the salary cap of the NFL.

On the other hand, it is still not clear what the final 2022 cap figure will be. It is still possible that the 2021 revenue projections of the league will end up low due to the allowed capacity of stadiums. If the 2021 revenue outpaces the projections, the difference would be added to the 2022 calculations and could result in the 2022 cap getting to or close to the salary-cap ceiling, which is at $208.2 million.

Furthermore, the extra money would be used in accelerating the timetable for paying back player benefits that were canceled last year as part of the July 26, 2020, agreement between the league and the players.

The agreement on the COVID-related amendments on the collective bargaining agreement, at $17 million in 2020 player benefits, was canceled. This includes the second career savings plan, performance-based pay, severance pay, and others, The Arizona Republic reported.

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