Nearly one-third of NFL teams "are below the minimum cash spending floor" for the '13-16 window agreed to in the '11 CBA, and they "will have to make up the difference at a time the salary cap is rising," according to NFLPA data cited by Tom Pelissero of USA TODAY. The CBA says that teams "must spend 89% of the salary cap in cash over two distinct four-year periods," '13-16 and '17-20. Over the past two seasons, the Raiders have "spent the least" at $205.3M, or 80.2% of the $256M total they were allotted. If the cap goes up by $10M per year in both '15 and '16, the Raiders' average payroll for the next two seasons "must increase" by more than $40M. The Panthers (80.8%), Jets (81.16%), Jaguars (82.2%), Cowboys (82.6%), Patriots (82.7%), Saints (86.2%), Redskins (87%), Giants (87.9%) and Steelers (88.3%) were "also underspending." Meanwhile, the Packers ($296.9M, 116% of the cap), Falcons ($279.3M, 109.1%), Seahawks ($274.9M, 107.4%), Bears ($271.5M, 106%) and Broncos ($269.8M, 105.4%) have been the NFL's "top spenders" for '13 and '14. If teams "don't meet their individual 89% thresholds (and/or the league as a whole its 95% aggregate minimum), the difference must be paid to the union, which can distribute the money at its discretion to current and former players who were on the affected rosters" (USA TODAY, 2/17).
