Updated Jan. 30, 2026, 4:24 p.m. ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars and the rest of the NFL just received some good news as it pertains to the 2026 salary cap figure.
According to the NFL Network, the league has notified all 32 teams that the projected salary cap for the 2026 season will be between $301.2 million and $305.7 million.
Compared to the 2025 salary cap, which was set at $279.2 million, that is an increase of over $20 million.
For several years now, the cap has increased at a significant rate. In 2022, the salary cap that year was $208.2 million.
Prior to this news, the Jaguars were projected to be $21.99 million over the 2026 salary cap, according to Over the Cap. That, however, was with a projected salary cap of $295.5 million.
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So instead, the Jaguars are somewhere roughly between $12 million and $16 million over. There is still work for GM James Gladstone to do, but less of it.
Contributing to the Jaguars’ current cap situation is a heavy amount of dead salary cap being carried on the 2026 books after undergoing so much roster turnover in 2025.
Gladstone will have the ability to create more cap room and spending power by restructuring certain deals. In short, this pushes salary cap charges to future years, while freeing up space in the present.
Also, depending on how it’s structured, a contract extension could potentially free up room, while releasing certain veterans — if their cap hit is larger than the dead cap hit they leave behind — can create cap space as well.
Any unused salary cap from the 2025 season can be rolled over into 2026 to help.
How much the Jaguars end up spending in free agency this offseason will be dependent on how aggressive Gladstone wants to be in pushing current year’s cap charges to future seasons.