The 2020 season has been nothing like we have ever seen before. With NFL revenues projected to drop, the Chicago Bears must prepare for a decrease in the 2021 salary cap.
Heading into the 2020 season teams were expecting another increase in salary cap in 2021. Teams have made correlated moves based on that anticipation. Welp, we should have learned at least one thing this year — the world does not care about your business plans. The Chicago Bears are not the only team that will suffer from the coronavirus’ effects on the future of the NFL. However, some teams are in better shape than others.
Looking ahead, the Chicago Bears are tight up against the cap right now for 2020. We will not know what will roll over into 2021, but my assumption is that it will be less than $10 million. This means the team will likely have around $30 million dollars in salary cap heading into the 2021 offseason.
The problem is that COVID-19 has changed everything about what we might see come 2021. The NFL is in the process of preparing for the first salary cap decline since 2011. Prior to the pandemic, the NFL was expecting a salary cap increase somewhere around $10 million dollars and an overall salary cap of $219 million. Now, the NFL is trying to figure out how to have a 2020 season. Will the stands be filled with fans? What about a partial capacity?
Until we know the type of revenue loss the NFL might see this season, teams have to be prepared for the worst. This means that the Chicago Bears might be forced to let some guys go in 2021 that the team was not planning on releasing.