NFLPA says teams could lose $70 million in 2021 cap

A lot of talk concerning how the Coronavirus may affect the 2021 salary cap has cropped up recently, and with good reason. As more and more teams begin to announce plans for restricted capacity (or none at all), it’s becoming more and more clear that teams will take a hit when it comes to the 2020 revenue stream.

DeMaurice Smith —lead executive of the NFL Players Association— provided an idea of what 2021 may look like salary cap-wise when he spoke with the Pro Football Writers Association the other day.

It’s not good.

Per Smith and president J.C. Tretter, each team could lose $70 million toward the cap in 2021. To put the loss into context, the 2020 cap is currently around $198 million.

Now, this is all based off the idea that there will be a dramatic drop in revenue this year, which is looking more and more likely as positive cases continue to trend upward. If the NFL doesn’t lose too much revenue then there’s the chance that the drop-off won’t be as severe — if at all. Smith did bring up the idea of spreading the potential loss over several years to help mitigate the damage, which would be the NFLPA’s preference.

It’s just another storyline to monitor as we hold our breath in hopes of the NFL pulling this one out.