The NFL salary cap for 2026 has been set at $277.5 million per team, a $15.5 million increase from 2025's number. That increase, combined with the contracts that expired after last season, has created the conditions for what several team salary-cap experts are projecting to be the most active free-agent period in three years.

Twenty-three teams currently have more than $40 million in available cap space, which is a meaningful number. For context, the most coveted free agents at positions of scarcity — quarterback, pass rusher, cornerback — will command annual values in the $30 to $50 million range. Teams that enter free agency with multiple roster holes and limited cap space will be competing for the players left after the first wave of signings, which is rarely the most efficient way to build.

The teams best positioned to be buyers: Jacksonville ($62M available), Carolina ($58M), Las Vegas ($54M), New England ($51M), and Tennessee ($49M). Each of those organizations has multiple roster needs and the financial flexibility to address them aggressively if the available players align with what their coaching staffs want.

The teams most constrained: New Orleans ($3M available after projected cuts), Baltimore ($8M), Cincinnati ($12M). Teams in this range typically navigate free agency through restructures, cuts of veteran contracts, and targeting mid-level players who don't command top-of-market value. The most cap-efficient signings in NFL history have often come from teams that were forced to be creative rather than dominant buyers.

Free agency opens at 4 p.m. ET on March 11. The 48-hour negotiating window before official signing starts March 9. By March 12, most of the significant movement will have occurred.