The NFL has officially announced that the salary cap for clubs will be set at $120.6 million dollars for 2012. Thanks to some recent restructuring on the contracts of Will Smith and Jahri Evans, that means the New Orleans Saints are about $8 millions dollars below the cap currently. That changes daily, though, with each roster move by the team.
Franchise tag figures and restricted free agent tender numbers were also officially set by the league, so we now know that Drew Brees will count $14.436 million against the salary cap until April 20, when he will then be paid the average of the top five salary-cap figures among quarterbacks this year. Jonathan Casillas' restricted free agent tender is worth $1.26 million.
The Saints have about 14 players set to become unrestricted free agents on Tuesday. The official start of the 2012 League Year will begin at 4:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 13.