Teams in the NFL will have a little more flexibility going into the 2013 season, according to a new report.
A source from the NFL Players Association told the Associated Press Thursday that the NFL salary cap for the 2013 season will get kicked up from $120.6 million--the limit this year--to $123.9 million next season.
The extra $900,000 will cover the minimum salary benefit per team, according to NFL.com
The league gave the go-ahead to the cap hike after they received better projected revenues last season, due to the success of NFL Properties.
The salary cap spike reflects a much higher increase for team spending in the coming NFL season than the slight $300,000-plus increase this past season from the $120.375 million cap limit in 2011, Yahoo! Sports reports.
Penalties for going over the salary cap in the NFL can be steep, as the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins found out the hard way.
Dallas was fined $10 million for going over the cap in the 2011 season while Washington was fined $36 million for salary cap penalties, which would be paid to the league during the course of the next two seasons. Both teams filed grievances with the league system arbitrator last year.
Although the extra $2.4 million isn't likely to help teams sign big-time free agents, it will give the 32 NFL teams some extra wiggle room to help in signing draft picks and assigning restricted free-agent tenders in the coming season.
The New Orleans Saints, looking to avoid penalties, restructured the contracts of at least four of their players, including receiver Marques Colston, linebacker David Hawthorne and guards Jahri Evans and Ben Grubbs.
On Thursday, news broke out that the Pittsburgh Steelers restructured the contract of quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger, clearing $6 million that helps the team work towards getting under the salary cap.