Detroit Lions: Salary Cap Carryover Amounts Announced for 2016
By Zac Snyder
The amount of unused salary cap space to be carried over for each team in 2016 has been announced and the Detroit Lions have the NFL’s second-lowest total.
Reports have projected the 2016 NFL Salary cap at at least $155 million but that is just part of the overall picture. The league cap figure sets the basis for each team’s cap, but the exact number for each team cap will vary.
Under the terms of the current collective bargaining agreement between the league and players, teams have the option to carry over all or part of their unused cap space from the previous year. The 2016 cap space each team has to work with will vary based upon the amount of unused cap space carried over.
For teams like the Jacksonville Jaguars ($32,774,928), Tennessee Titans ($20,783,801) and the Cleveland Browns ($20,734,144), that means more buying power in free agency. Unfortunately, the Detroit Lions are not a team that will benefit from unused cap space carried over from the 2015 season. The $862,191 they have to carry over to add to their 2016 cap is the second-lowest total in the NFL. Only the Seattle Seahawks ($11,587) will carry over less.
The Lions may not have much in the way of carryover money to add to their 2016 salary cap number but they have a healthy cap situation overall. They had a lot of dead money carried against their 2015 salary cap that comes off the books and recent roster cuts have cleared the way for the Lions to have in upwards of $40 million in free cap space this offseason.
The team-by-team breakdown of cap carry over amounts are as follows:
| Club | Carry Over Amount |
Arizona Cardinals
$3,031,663
Atlanta Falcons
$3,905,771
Baltimore Ravens
$1,633,944
Buffalo Bills
$4,467,331
Carolina Panthers
$3,731,200
Chicago Bears
$867,589
Cincinnati Bengals
$7,587,902
Cleveland Browns
$20,734,144
Dallas Cowboys
$3,571,239
Denver Broncos
$3,300,000
Detroit Lions
$862,191
Green Bay Packers
$6,953,847
Houston Texans
$1,637,055
Indianapolis Colts
$4,950,629
Jacksonville Jaguars
$32,774,928
Kansas City Chiefs
$2,622,838
Los Angeles Rams
$933,521
Miami Dolphins
$9,137,544
Minnesota Vikings
$2,090,409
New England Patriots
$1,347,882
New Orleans Saints
$1,400,000
New York Giants
$11,193,231
New York Jets
$2,484,216
Oakland Raiders
$13,373,617
Philadelphia Eagles
$7,255,362
Pittsburgh Steelers
$3,000,327
San Diego Chargers
$2,287,176
San Francisco 49ers
$12,206,686
Seattle Seahawks
$11,587
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
$7,987,748
Tennessee Titans
$20,783,801
Washington Redskins
$5,837,734
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The official 2016 NFL salary cap figure is expected to be announced early next month.