Could NFL salary cap lead to superteams in 2021?

The NFL salary cap is set to fall in 2021, which is bad news for free agents hitting the market this offseason. It could lead to some unforeseen consequences that could hurt league parity instead of help it, too.

ESPN’s Dan Graziano reported on Thursday that the 2021 salary cap is likely to be between $180 million and $185 million, likely toward the lower end of that range. That represents a notable drop from the $198.2 million cap in 2020, largely due to pandemic-related revenue losses.

Due to the reduced cap space teams will be working with, NFL Network’s James Palmer told The DNVR’s “Three Ring Circus” podcast that some around the league believe some veterans will take less money to sign one-year contracts with Super Bowl contenders, potentially heralding some one-off NFL “superteams.”

“There’s people around the league that I talk to that think there’s going to be some super teams attempted to be put together for one year because of this style of where the cap is,” Palmer said. “Guys are going to take less money and go play with Tom Brady in Tampa for one season. And then we get back on track and they’re going to ask for their regular money.”

In a way, the Buccaneers did assemble their 2020 Super Bowl winners that way. Rob Gronkowski didn’t want to play anywhere else, and Antonio Brown wanted to join Brady as well. That said, Gronkowski was retired and only came back for the Buccaneers, while Brown was damaged goods and had no other suitors. Now, some players could turn down other contenders to play for Tampa Bay.

Here’s one name that could fit the bill if the Buccaneers are serious about getting even more talent for Brady.