Cincinnati Bengals Salary Cap: How much cap space do they have in 2021?
Like all NFL teams, the Cincinnati Bengals' salary cap will be under scrutiny from NFL officials aiming to ensure that the league's financial regulations are adhered to.
With the 2021 NFL draft just a couple of weeks away, it's that second time during the offseason that franchises need to pay extra special attention to the salary cap. A team that goes over the cap risks exposing itself to financial penalties and potentially even the loss of draft picks.
Before their 2021 campaign gets underway, the Bengals will hope to add the best available talent to their roster courtesy of the 2021 NFL draft and free agency. But, the franchise must strive to ensure it stays beneath the $182.5 million salary cap limit set by the NFL while doing so.
How much cap space do the Cincinnati Bengals have ahead of the 2021 NFL season?
Spotrac.com states that as of right today (April 12th), the Cincinnati Bengals have $23,470,950 of cap room available.
Because the Bengals are cap-rich this offseason, coach Zac Taylor's team should have little to no issues adding rookie talent to the roster. They have no real need to move any starters on big contracts and could yet even opt to raid the free agency market to add more talent to the roster. Long and short of it all is that the Bengals are in a very good place financially.
Who is the highest-paid Cincinnati Bengals player in 2021?
The rostered Cincinnati Bengals player, who is set to earn the highest guaranteed salary in 2021 is new signing Trey Hendrickson.
The defensive end, who racked up 12.5 sacks for the New Orleans Saints last season, joined the Bengals during the offseason after a very short stint in free agency. Hendrickson is set to earn a guaranteed $6 million in Cincinnati.
The player set to earn the highest base salary, however, is the forgotten man at cornerback Trae Waynes.
The former Minnesota Vikings star signed on with the Bengals during the 2020 offseason but spent the entire campaign on IR after injuring his pectoral muscle during preseason training. Waynes also has the highest cap number in total and is set to cost the Bengals $15,800,000 in 2021.