:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/7859653/20120916_pjc_ss1_416.0.jpg)
The salary cap for the 2012 NFL season was $120.6 million. For 2013, it will be $121.1 mill, per a tweet from NFL.com reporter Ian Rapoport.
The reason for the slight increase in cap space, and not a HUGE increase, is that the new TV money does not kick in until roughly 2014.
The 2013 Indianapolis Colts reportedly have the fourth most cap space to work with entering the offseason. With $43.1 million to spend, which they must do per the collective bargaining agreement, they are behind the Dolphins ($44 million), the Browns ($45.6 million), and the Bengals ($55 million).
That Cincy has $55 mill to work with this offseason is truly frightening for the AFC. The Bengals made the playoffs last season, and came very close to winning the AFC North. Andy Dalton and A.J. Green are stars on the rise, and Mike Zimmer's defenses continue to wreck opposing offenses regardless of personnel.
How Zimmer is not a head coach in this league continues to elude me. A lot of very stupid people run or own teams, it seems.
Miami, Cincy, and Indy will all be competing for similar free agents. All three teams have stability at quarterback, and all three are looking for playmakers at the skill positions for those quarterbacks. Cleveland will likely have to dedicate a significant portion of their free cap to a quarterback. New ownership doesn't seem all that thrilled with 30-year-old second year player Brandon Weeden.