What happens if an NFL team goes over the salary cap? League's rules and penalties explained

The salary cap is a necessary check and balance in the NFL that prevents teams from overspending. Ahead of each NFL season, there's a salary cap, and every team must comply with the stipulated sum.

The stipulated salary cap for 2024 is a record $255,400,000. Whether any franchise runs afoul of spending over the salary cap remains to be seen. Hence, this article will examine the consequences of going beyond the salary cap, some franchises that surpass the cap and other interesting tidbits. So, without further ado, here's what you've been waiting for.

What happens if an NFL team breaches the salary cap?

Teams are made to face steep punishments for breaching the salary cap rules. First, if a franchise surpasses the salary cap, such a franchise will be fined up to $5 million.

Furthermore, the guilty franchise could be made to forgo future draft picks and get contracts canceled ahead of a season. These punishments have made teams mainly comply with the salary cap regulations. However, some teams just can't take a hint, and they've been punished for running afoul of the clearly stated rules.

How many NFL teams have been penalized for breaching the salary cap?

Recently, three NFL teams have violated the salary cap regulations and been made to face the music.

In 2012, the Dallas Cowboys and then Washington Redskins were fined a combined $46 million due to a salary cap dispute between those two franchises and the NFL. Interestingly, both franchises were fined for overspending on player contracts in an uncapped year.

The Jerry Jones-owned Dallas Cowboys were penalized for $10 million, split by $5 million yearly for two years to aid the payment process. While the then-Dan Snyder-owned Redskins were docked $36 million ($18 million a year for two seasons).

The Houston Texans are the most recent team caught in a salary cap scandal. The 2023 Texans were denied their initial fifth-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft and made to pay a fine of $175,000 for a salary cap reporting violation.

This is the first fine plus draft removal punishment in NFL history. It was reported that the Texans circumvented the cap rules in 2020 by providing former franchise QB Deshaun Watson with undisclosed compensation for enrolling in an auxiliary athletic program.

NFL salary cap increases over the past 5 years

Here's a look at the salary cap increase in the NFL over the last half-decade:

Year	Salary Cap	Cap Increase / decrease from the previous year
2024	$255,400,000	$30,600,000
2023	$224,800,000	$16,600,000
2022	$208,200,000	$25,700,000
2021	$182,500,000	$-15,700,000
2020	$198,200,000	$10,000,000