The NFL salary cap is expected to reach $208.2 million for the 2022 season, the maximum allowable under an agreement made by ownership and the players' association.

Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the expected jump from this season's $182.5 million cap. The NFL and NFLPA reached an agreement last year that allowed salaries to stay the same during the 2020 season despite no fans being allowed in stadiums, with the players paying back their surplus wages by smoothing them over a number of years.

The $208.2 million is the maximum allowable cap for the 2022 season under that agreement. 

The bump will be a refuge to teams that struggled with the cap ahead of this season. Several teams were forced to sign restructured contracts and release veterans to get under the cap. Many free agents also took shorter-term deals in hopes of getting back on the market when more teams had cap space.

It's looking as if whatever minor financial woes the NFL suffered because of the COVID-19 pandemic are a thing of the past. It's likely another cap spike will happen in 2023 to get things back on track to where they were before the pandemic started.