With the regular season comes a switch in how salary-cap figures are estimated. During the offseason, only the top 51 players' base salaries are accounted for. That changes for the regular season, which accounts for the entire 53-player roster, 16 practice squad players, and those with injury designations.
Over The Cap estimates that the San Francisco 49ers will have nearly $5.8 million in salary-cap space, and the team may need every penny. As we saw last season, the Niners had to make several in-season roster moves due to the flurry of injuries that impacted the team.
A healthier 2021 campaign will mitigate the need for a surplus of available money, but the 49ers probably want to be prepared for whatever the upcoming season might throw at them.
San Francisco currently ranks third in the NFC West when it comes to teams with the most cap space. The Seattle Seahawks are estimated to own nearly $11.2 million in cap space. The Arizona Cardinals sit at just over $6.5 million. And the Los Angeles Rams have about $1.6 million.
The Carolina Panthers are projected to own the most salary-cap space with about $23.7 million in available money. The 49ers rank 17th in the league, per Over The Cap's projections.
Six NFL teams are currently estimated to be over the $182.5 million salary cap, per Over The Cap. They are the Las Vegas Raiders, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans, and Indianapolis Colts. Those teams have until next Thursday to get under the cap. That's when the switch from counting the top 51 to the whole roster kicks off.
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