What the NFL’s record $279.2 million salary cap means for the Eagles
The Eagles are projected to have approximately $22.1 million in cap space. Which of their free agents will they be able to retain?
The NFL salary cap is on the rise once again.
According to a memo issued by the league to teams on Thursday, the 2025 salary cap has been set at $279.2 million. That figure is a $23.8 million increase (9.32%) from last year’s $255.4 leaguewide, unadjusted limit, making it the third-greatest year-over-year jump by dollar amount since the inception of the salary cap in 1994.
» READ MORE: The NFL salary cap gods just gave Howie Roseman all he needs to win the offseason and win another Super Bowl
The finalized cap number exceeds the projection that the NFL Network reported in December. At the time, teams reportedly were preparing for a salary cap in the range of $265 million to $275 million. Last week, that projection swelled to a range of $277.5 million to $281.5 million, according to a memo issued by the league to its clubs obtained by ESPN.
With the salary cap set for 2025, the Eagles are projected to have approximately $22.1 million in cap space at the start of the new league year on March 12, according to Over the Cap. The database anticipates that the Eagles will require $2.5 million in cap space to sign their incoming rookie class, leaving them with a projected $19.5 million in effective cap space.
» READ MORE: Re-signing Zack Baun is an Eagles priority ahead of free agency. There might also be salary-cap casualties.
That total is the 12th-lowest in the league and nearly $10 million less than the Eagles’ effective cap space going into the 2024 league year. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said earlier this month that the team’s offseason moves are going to look “different” than last year’s when the team was particularly active in signing free agents. Saquon Barkley, the franchise’s single-season rushing leader, and Zack Baun, the first-team All-Pro inside linebacker, were the most notable among them.
“It’s probably not going to look like maybe the conventional wisdom thinks it should look,” Roseman said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine. “And I would just ask our fans to just have patience throughout the offseason. The offseason doesn’t stop in free agency. The offseason doesn’t stop when the draft hits. The offseason really, for us, the talent acquisition season lasts up until the trade deadline.”
Last year ahead of free agency, Roseman said Tuesday, he and his staff viewed 2025 as primarily a “maintenance” year in which they would attempt to retain pending free agents. That anticipated effort became more challenging, as players in contract years such as Baun, outside linebacker Josh Sweat, and defensive tackle Milton Williams mustered some of the best performances of their careers.
Leading up to the new league year, Roseman is tasked with deciding which of his pending free agents he wants to prioritize re-signing, seeing as he won’t be able to afford them all. Regarding the 28-year-old Baun, Roseman said Tuesday that he would make a “concerted effort to try to keep him here” despite his premium price tag on the heels of a breakout season.
» READ MORE: Zack Baun, back in his Wisconsin hometown after the Super Bowl, reflects on the Eagles as ‘the right opportunity’
Roseman also will have to make a decision on Mekhi Becton, the Eagles’ starting right guard who signed a one-year, prove-it deal after the draft last year. The Eagles have a total of 17 pending free agents, including 15 unrestricted free agents, one restricted free agent in wide receiver/punt returner Britain Covey, and one exclusive rights free agent in inside linebacker Ben VanSumeren.
“We know we’re not going to keep everyone,” Roseman said. “Certainly, we’d like to keep everyone. But at the end of the day, we’re going to have to make some decisions this year, next year, every year going forward to try to balance who are the guys that we want to make every effort to keep, who are the guys we’d really like to keep but may have some better opportunities elsewhere.”
A memo distributed to teams on Thursday outlined the restricted free agent tender values for 2025. The lowest tender (right of first refusal only) is set at $3.3 million.
The memo also listed the fifth-year option base salaries for first-round picks in the 2022 draft. The Eagles must decide whether they will exercise the fifth-year options for defensive tackle Jordan Davis, quarterback Kenny Pickett, and wide receiver Jahan Dotson by May 2.
Davis’ fifth-year base salary in 2026 would be $12.9 million if exercised, while Pickett’s would be $22.1 million and Dotson’s would be $16.8 million. If those options are not picked up, each player would have the chance to become an unrestricted free agent by the 2026 new league year.
Hot on the heels of the Eagles’ Super Bowl LIX championship, The Inquirer’s hit podcast, unCovering the Birds with Jeff McLane, is excited to announce another live taping — and you’re invited! In a subscriber-exclusive event in partnership with the Fitler Club, join us in person as The Inquirer’s most seasoned Eagles beat reporter, Jeff McLane, talks with Eagles legend and radio broadcaster, Mike Quick. Jeff and Mike will discuss all things Super Bowl and what made the 2024-25 season so special. Plus, they’ll look ahead to the offseason and the tough decisions that will have to be made if the team wants to give us another victory parade next year.
SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: Limited seating is available exclusively to our subscribers on a first come, first served basis. RSVP now.