All in all, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles had a pretty good close to the week.
Poles first won the battle between him and now former Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah after the stunning news of his firing from the Vikings. After four years of everyone saying Adofo-Mensah was the better GM, Poles silenced those critics with the move.
To top it off, Poles found out he will have more money to work with in the offseason. NFL insider Tom Pelissero reported that the NFL informed all 32 teams that the estimated salary cap for each team is expected to be between $301.2 million and $305.7 million. This would be an over $20 million jump from the $279.2 million cap number last season and nearly a $100 million jump from 2022.
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
Ryan Poles will have more money to work with during the offseason
This is exactly what the Bears needed as they have more ammunition to work with during free agency and making trades. Poles hopes this will help make their lives easier as they have a lot of work to do in the offseason.
According to Spotrac, the Bears have $-10.6 million in salary cap space, ranking 26th in the NFL. That means Chicago might have to make some tough decisions on the roster as they try to work through the lack of space, but the new news should help them get back over the negatives.
What the extra $20 million does is help the Bears secure the funds to re-sign key players like Kevin Byard, whose estimated market value is about $7 million per year, and Jaquan Brisker, whose estimated market value is about $10 million per year. It might even save room if they wanted to take a shot with cornerback Nahshon Wright, but after leading the league in turnovers and making the Pro Bowl, his price tag is estimated at $16 million per year.
While Wright might still be out of their price range, it gives them the wiggle room to make other moves, like trading or cutting D'Andre Swift and DJ Moore to move them off the payroll. Chicago has built a solid foundation over the last two years, so it might want to save its money for future draft picks, since that has worked well for it so far.
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Poles can have a lot of fun this offseason, and the Bears fan base wants him to keep showing the league why he is one of the most underrated general managers in the league.