News of the NFL’s projected 2026 salary cap range hit general manager Andrew Berry and the Cleveland Browns like a late Christmas present.
The official number is still a major gift. It’s just not as big as Browns fans were hoping for.
The league announced on Friday that its salary cap number in 2026 will exceed the $300 million threshold for the first time. The cap is officially growing $22 million from 2025, and has been set at $301.2 million.
Overall, this is good news for Cleveland, which will happily take all the free cap relief it can get given its current state of affairs. But based on the initial range NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported last month, the final number is actually somewhat of a worst-case scenario.
The NFL informed clubs today it is projecting a 2026 salary cap in the range of $301.2 million to $305.7 million per club, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) January 30, 2026
That would represent another significant jump from this year’s $279.2 million cap number, and nearly $100M than the $208.2M cap in 2022. pic.twitter.com/3Mr146H01C
Per Pelissero, the NFL informed all 32 teams that it was expecting a jump to between $301.2 million and $305.7 million. That means the final number wound up being the floor of that range, in turn stripping the Browns of an expected $2 million to $3 million of additional space.
For example, Cleveland’s projected 2026 cap space on Over the Cap, before the team's expected contract restructures in early March, had been set at $3.2 million. The Browns have since dipped to below $1 million in actual space as of the end of February, at $756.2K.
The NFL's salary cap bump wasn’t quite the boost Cleveland hoped for
For the Browns, not much changes from a 10,000-foot view. They’ll still need to execute routine contract restructures for guys like Deshaun Watson and Denzel Ward to create the necessary space to not only make moves in free agency, but sign their 2026 rookie class. As it stands, the Browns hold 10 selections in April’s draft.
Cleveland’s in a similar situation to teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys. Last week, the Chiefs created about $46 million in cap space solely by restructuring Patrick Mahomes’ contract. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Cowboys are planning to clear $66 million in cap space via contract restructures for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Tyler Smith.
The Cowboys will restructure the contracts of QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb and G Tyler Smith, which will create $66 million of room.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 28, 2026
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys will rework the contracts of DTs Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa, who are scheduled to count… https://t.co/L1hZWlO1yk
According to Browns reporter Zac Jackson, the Browns can open about $40 million in 2026 cap space via a contract conversion for Watson. They can clear about $15 million more with a similar restructure for Ward, per Over the Cap.
Even with the final number set at $301.2 million, Berry will be able to create the space Cleveland needs to improve the roster this offseason. The majority of these cap maneuvers will push dead-cap charges into future years, but with the cap rising by eight figures each year, the team should be able to continue riding the waves, especially after officially parting ways with Watson via a planned post-June 1 designation in March of 2027.
It could have been better, as an extra $2-plus million would’ve helped the Browns big time. But Cleveland would’ve been digging out of a cap mess regardless, and it could now need to make one extra roster concession than it was hoping for this offseason.