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On Sunday morning, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the NFL’s Salary Cap is expected to climb in 2017. Compared to last year’s $155.27 million figure, Schefter notes that it could rise as high as $10 million to $163-165 million. However, we won’t get the exact figures until March.
Of course, you’d be interested in wondering where the New Orleans Saints fit into this equation. The latest figures have the Saints at $140 million from their Top 51. They have $73.4 million invested into the offense, $47.2 million into defense, and $5.2 million for special teams. As of right now, they have less than $10 million in dead money.
Seeing what general manager Mickey Loomis and the Saints have done with ‘limited’ money and all the dead money, it’s probably best viewed as a make it or break it season heading into 2017. The team could gain even more money by extending Kenny Vaccaro, who the team picked up the 5th-year option on, and their top priority could be resigning defensive tackle Nick Fairley.
Here’s an early look at their top five salary cap hits for next season:
- Drew Brees, $19 million
- Cameron Jordan, $12 million
- Jairus Byrd, $11.7 million
- Terron Armstead, $11 million
- Coby Fleener, $7.5 million
Using Loomisnomics, it’ll be interesting to see how the Saints address their areas of need.