The Cincinnati Bengals have a plethora of important financial decisions to make over the offseason involving several key contributors. Players like Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson and Mike Gesicki are all seeking extensions or fresh deals, and there has been some serious speculation about whether or not the Bengals would be willing -- or able -- to pay all of those guys.
Luckily, the official number for the NFL's 2025 salary cap is great news for Cincinnati. Teams were informed this week that the cap number will be $279.2 million per team. This new number is higher than originally projected, and it represents a big-time increase from last season's cap number of $255.4 million.
This large increase in cap space is obviously great news for the Bengals, as it means they will have additional cash to spend on new deals for those previously mentioned key contributors. Cincinnati is now projected to have north of $61 million in cap space, which is the eighth-most league-wide, per Over the Cap. That number can increase if the Bengals release additional veteran players.
Bengals in great position with NFL salary cap set at $279.2 million per team for 2025
Only these eight teams are projected to have more cap space than Cincinnati this offseason: New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings.
This is the second straight year that the cap has increased dramatically. Last year, the cap jumped from $224.8 million to $255.4 million, which was the largest one-year increase ever. This year's jump of $23.8 million per team set the record again.
Overall, the cap has increased over $55 million in two years. That staggering increase in cap space in recent years can be attributed to new, lucrative media right deals, as well as the growing popularity of the league.
If any team is poised to take advantage of the inflated new cap number, it's the Bengals. With the number being so high, they shouldn't have any excuses when it comes to retaining their stars. Doing so will likely require some shrewd financial maneuvering, but it should still be possible, as Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin acknowledged during a media session at the annual NFL Scouting Combine.
"We've managed our cap well, we've got low dead money," Tobin said. "... That's what we want. We're in a position to re-sign these guys, and it's a good position to be in. We're going to attack it. We don't want to just re-sign these guys and pay more or the same football team we had last year. We want to add to it as well. We want to re-sign these guys, reward them for their ability level and add to the football team. It's a tall task. We think we're up to it."