The Kansas City Chiefs got some good news from the league office on Friday, and it’s going to help Brett Veach navigate a challenging 2026 NFL offseason.
As first reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL informed teams that the 2026 salary cap was expected to fall between the range of $301.2 million to $305.7 million per club. It’ll mark the first time ever that the NFL salary cap has exceeded the $300 million mark.
This is substantially higher than last year’s $279.2 million salary cap and even higher than recent predictions from Over The Cap ($295.5 million). When all is said and done, it could be nearly $100 million higher than it was during the 2022 NFL season ($208.2 million) after COVID years severely stymied league earnings.
What is the Chiefs’ projected salary cap space for the 2026 NFL season?
The Chiefs’ salary cap situation this offseason is dire, no matter how you shake it. As of earlier this month, OverTheCap projected they would be $62.5 million over the projected $295.5 million salary cap. Even though they have mechanisms to solve it with a number of cuts, restructures, trades, and extension candidates, it’s undoubtedly the worst salary cap situation in the NFL.
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At the midpoint of the projected range, $303.5 million, the Chiefs would be $54.9 million over the 2026 salary cap.
At the low range of $301.2 million, they’d be $57.2 million over the 2026 salary cap.
At the high range of $305.7 million, they’d be $52.7 million over the 2026 salary cap.
The Chiefs will get all the help they can get, and based on last year’s evidence, this should fall closer to the higher end of the projected range.
Of course, all of the above numbers are before the Chiefs do anything to create salary cap space. I recently outlined several options they have to get themselves salary-cap compliant. They’ll have until March 11, when the new league year begins, to get under the cap. The league also aims to announce an official 2026 salary cap number before that date.
Ultimately, this will make Veach’s job easier regarding the salary cap and free agency spending. It could even help the team retain some pending free agents or pursue a higher-priced outside free agent for the 2026 NFL season.
This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Jan 30, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.