For a fifth straight year, the NFL salary cap is on the rise.
The league informed its clubs on Friday that the base salary cap will rise to $301.2 million for the 2026 season, a $22 million increase from 2025’s figure. This is the first time in the history of the NFL salary cap that it has crossed the $300 million threshold.
The salary cap has now risen 7.88% since last year’s league-wide limit of $279.2 million, marking the lowest rate of growth since 2020, when it rose 5.31% at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Last season, the salary cap increased 8.69%.
While the salary cap is rising, so are the Eagles’ cap charges in 2026. According to Over The Cap, the Eagles will be sitting at approximately $13.8 million in cap space come the start of the new league year on March 11.
That rough figure does not include the space that will be required to sign the 2026 draft class, so the team’s effective cap space is likely lower.
Thus, general manager Howie Roseman will have to do some maneuvering if he wants to make free-agent additions this offseason. He already tempered expectations regarding potential external free-agent signings this offseason on Feb. 20, stating that it’s the team’s priority to attempt to retain its own players instead.
“It’s going to be hard for us, unless we make major moves to subtract, to really make some sort of splash move that costs money because we like the players we have drafted and want them as a big part of our next few years as well,” Roseman said.
The majority of those homegrown players in line for imminent extensions are on defense, including Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Moro Ojomo. Other defensive players on rookie deals, such as Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Jalyx Hunt, will have to be addressed in the coming years.
Carter and Smith, the Eagles’ 2023 first-round picks, are eligible to have their fifth-year options exercised this offseason. Now that the cap has been set, the NFL also reportedly shared fifth-year option amounts with clubs on Friday.
By making two Pro Bowls, Carter has solidified himself in the highest salary tier, potentially earning himself a base salary of $27.1 million in 2027 if exercised. Smith is in the lowest tier at $13.8 million.
Jalen Hurts could also warrant an extension or a restructure, given that his cap hit jumps to $32 million in 2026 (approximately 10.2% of the salary cap).
The Eagles have a number of pending unrestricted free agents that could be in line for paydays, either with the Eagles or elsewhere, including Jaelan Phillips, Dallas Goedert, Nakobe Dean, and Reed Blankenship. Given the team’s financial situation, it will be a challenge to retain any one of them.
Still, Roseman emphasized that attempting to keep some of the Eagles’ pending free agents will be at the top of his to-do list this offseason.
“I think from a big picture perspective, we want to build a team that every year has a chance to compete for championships, that drafts really well and signs their own players and just sporadically goes into free agency,” Roseman said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. And sometimes as much as you want to add from outside and you want to change it up, you got to make a decision to keep the players you know have played well and are part of your culture.”
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