The NFL has officially set the 2021 salary cap at $182.5 million, which is a $15.7 million drop from last year’s $198.2 cap number. It’s also the first time the cap has dropped since its inception in 1994.
However, the cap will be somewhat fluid this season and will change by team based on 2020 cap carryover. For the New York Giants, they will carry over an additional $2,933,855 giving them a cap number of $185,433,855.
The good news is that’s $5.43 million more than they anticipated having just a week ago (carryover excluded), but it’s still not nearly enough for a team that has substantial work to do.
When factoring in the franchise tag to Leonard Williams (roughly $19.4 million), the restructured contract of tight end Levine Toilolo and the cuts of linebacker David Mayo and wide receivers Golden Tate and Cody Core, the Giants find themselves nearly $7.94 million over the $182.5 million cap number, according to Over the Cap.
Spotrac, meanwhile, has the Giants more than $15.5 million over the cap and $8.01 million over the cap based on their top 51.
That’s not a great position for general manager Dave Gettleman & Co. to be in, but there are plenty of other teams in far worse shape. Additionally, the Giants have options to clear more space, including reworking the contracts of or cutting offensive lineman Nate Solder and Kevin Zeitler.
Along with Solder and Zeitler, the Giants could also clear considerable cap space in 2021 by signing Williams to a long-term deal, which remains a primary goal of the team.
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