In a league obsessed with pinching pennies, the NFL has just handed seven teams an unusual ultimatum: start spending, and fast. One topic discussed in the latest NFLPA virtual meeting involved the minimum cash spending threshold over three-year periods. Several franchises now need to spend quickly to meet the requirements.

As per the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), several franchises, such as the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Chargers, and the Tennessee Titans, need to spend an additional $50 million on player contracts this year to meet their three-year requirement (2024-2026).

Based on CBA’s reports, most of these franchises will be looking to use free agency to comply with the rule. Other than free agency, there are also contract extensions, through which they can spend the $50 million and meet the requirements.

The Jets have almost $80 million in free cap space. So, spending $50 million would likely be feasible for the franchise. There is a feeling that they will try to re-sign running back Breece Hall.

Hall has been one of the most dominant players on offense, covering 1,065 yards in 243 carries and four touchdowns. Franchise tagging him will cost around $15 million for one year.

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The Titans, Raiders, Chargers, and Seahawks have a minimum of $60 million in cap space. But Sean McVay’s Rams could face a bit of a problem since they have less than $50 million in cap space.

Meanwhile, the Saints are in a tricky situation. According to Spotrac, the Saints sit at second last in cap space, with a negative $41 million. They will most likely cut players or restructure contracts to come within the legal bounds before complying with the CBA rule.

The three-year contract requirement is not the only announcement that the NFLPA had. They also updated the agents about the cap space for the 2026 season.

For the first time, NFL franchises will get over $300 million in cap space

The 2025 season saw the NFL rack up a lot of revenue. Thanks to it, the franchises will be getting a massive hike in cap space from last year. According to the NFLPA, each franchise will be getting approximately $303.5 million, but that’s not all.

The icing on the cake is that it could reach up to $305 million as well. On most occasions, the cap space increases from one year to the next, but crossing $300 million is something that happened for the first time in the league’s history.

Last season, it was $279 million. From that, it is an almost 9% increase. In 2024, it was a little over $255 million. So, there is a growing trend in the cap space. Based on the upward trend, 2027 may see the cap space reaching $320 million. But it is something that will depend on the league’s revenue in the 2026 season.

The Titans rank at the top with a positive cap hit of almost $100 million for the 2026 season. Sean McVay’s team is well over the positive mark with $44 million. However, it is the Vikings, the Saints, and the Cowboys who are at the bottom.

These franchises will need to address the situation quickly, or the league may step in. The Cowboys are in a dilemma with their massive number of free agents, which includes star wide receiver George Pickens. With the latest CBA report, and with free agency and the draft lining up, it remains to be seen how the franchises deal with cap space and cap hit.