NY Jets rumored to have more cap space than expected thanks to NFL change

The NY Jets will have some difficult financial decisions to make this offseason. The team is projected to be roughly $1.7 million under the salary cap, per Over The Cap, and will have to make some moves to recoup additional cap space.

They might not need to make as many moves as initially expected, however.

Current salary cap projections are based on the assumption that the NFL salary cap in 2024 will be around $242 million. That's up almost $20 million from the record-setting $224.8 million the cap was set at last year.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio is reporting, however, that this year's cap could actually be as high as $250 million. That would give the Jets, and every other NFL team, of course, an additional $8 million in cap space entering the 2024 season.

How much cap space do the NY Jets have?

The NFL has yet to announce the designated salary cap for 2024, despite the fact that last year's figure was reported in late January. If Florio's source is right, the exponential growth of the NFL's salary cap will continue.

Last year's $224.8 million was already up over $16 million from 2022, which was up $26 million from 2021, although that year was adjusted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means the NFL's salary cap might increase a whopping 37 percent in just three years. We're witnessing historic growth year-over-year.

That could prove incredibly beneficial to a team like the Jets that will be looking for every opportunity to cut costs this offseason. The Jets have enough financial flexibility to get themselves safely under the salary cap with room to spare, but every dollar matters.

This rumored additional $8 million could be the difference between the Jets cutting or retaining a player like John Franklin-Myers. It could allow the team to sign a top free agent they otherwise wouldn't have been able to.

Salary cap adjustments like this carry more weight for teams that are tight against the cap, like the Jets. That's what makes this potential alteration so significant.

The Jets are prepared to go all-in on the 2024 season as the organization searches for its first postseason berth in 13 years. Now, they might have a little more money than expected to help achieve their goal.