Chapter 1
The media engine
Chapter 2
The revenue sharing model
Chapter 3
The salary cap and player pay
Chapter 4
Stadium empires and global expansion
YOUR GOAL
Master of The business of the NFL
Ch 3 · The salary cap and player pay
nic Unlike MLB or the NBA, most NFL player contracts are not fully guaranteed, meaning players can be cut with no future pay.
nic Teams use signing bonuses to pay players immediate cash while spreading the accounting cost over several years.
Fun Fact
Salary cap rise: The NFL salary cap was just $34.6 million in 1994, but skyrocketed to over $255 million by 2024.
Glossary
salary cap (noun)
An agreement or rule that limits the total amount of money a sports team can spend on player salaries. The NFL first introduced this spending limit in 1994 to ensure competitive balance among franchises.
An agreement or rule that limits the total amount of money a sports team can spend on player salaries. The NFL first introduced this spending limit in 1994 to ensure competitive balance among franchises.
Quiz
Who signed a massive $78 million rookie contract in 2010, prompting the creation of the rookie wage scale?
Quiz
Which agreement established the strict rookie wage scale to limit first-year player salaries?
Quiz
Which major North American sports league is famous for having mostly non-guaranteed player contracts?