Bucs projected to be $55M over the salary cap for 2023
Estimated 2023 Cap Space
1. #Bears, $98M
2. #Falcons, $56M
3. #Bengals, $44.5M*
4. #Giants, $44.4M
5. #Patriots, $38M
…
30. #Jaguars, -$32M
31. #Buccaneers, -$55M
32. #Saints, -$57M*reserve/future contracts not yet includedhttps://t.co/lSUFgEJ1Xu
— Spotrac (@spotrac) January 30, 2023
After jumping through tons of hoops, restructuring contracts, adding void years, and everything else they’ve done to try and keep their Super Bowl window with Tom Brady open as long as possible, the bill is finally starting to come due for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Thanks to all of those moves that pushed money to future years in favor of short-term savings, the Bucs are projected to be $55 million over the salary cap for the 2023 season.
It was all worth it, of course, because they already won a second Lombardi Trophy in Brady’s first season with the team. But after early exits from the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, the Bucs will now be faced with some tough roster decisions this offseason.
Tampa Bay has a long list of free agents to re-sign (including Tom Brady and Lavonte David), so they’ll have to get even more creative with the salary cap if they want to have room to sign any of those players, or replace them with veterans on the open market.
It looks like the Bucs might be staring down a potential rebuild, but one they might try to put off for another year if Brady wants to return for a fourth season in Tampa Bay.
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