getty Falcons General Manager Thomas Dimitroff.
Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff joined 92.9 FM The game on Friday and gave his insight on the NFL’s salary cap, insisting they’re not in ‘salary cap hell.’
Dimitroff summed up the salary cap situation without any worries.
“Take this the right way,” Dimitroff said. “I was doing my own research on the definition of hell and it’s perpetual fire. We are not in an un-ending or perpetual fire (situation). We are in a situation, as I alluded to earlier when you spend money on the people that you’re spending money on, you’re in a situation from year to year … where every year is the same in the sense of we really look at our players.”
Falcons Need to ‘Get Creative’
He believes the team is in a good position and that a tight salary cap only means you have to get more creative as to where and where not to spend money.
“We look at where we are spending our money and we try to decide how we are going to adjust. Sometimes, it takes more creativity in a year where you sign a lot of players to high contracts coming into a year verses another year when things are a little less active and it becomes a little easier to navigate.“
This year is a ‘high-contract year’ since the Falcons have already spent money re-signing Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, and Grady Jarrett. It will make it more complicated with what is left with the space cap, however, it’s not impossible.
“I feel we are in a really good spot. Meaning that I understand, and Dan (Quinn) understands and so does (president) Rich McKay and (owner) Arthur Blank, where we are with this team. Where we need to continue to grow. How we need to continue to build and where we need to put our money and maybe not put our money. “So, again, it will take creativity. In no way is it cap hell. We are in a solid situation that is going to continue to get better as we make some tough decisions into this offseason.”
Also, follow the Heavy on Falcons Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors, and content!
Salary Cap to Rise
If the new CBA is ratified, then the salary cap is expected to increase to roughly $200 million. The higher the salary cap the bigger the benefit for Atlanta.
Raising the cap will help each NFL team spend more, but it’s particularly useful to teams that don’t have a lot of cap space from the previous season. The Falcons are one of those teams considering they do not have a lot of cap space left over from the 2019 season.
The Falcons currently possess about $4.5 million in space. The Falcons have the third-least amount of cap space in the NFL. They are also one of only three other teams with under $10 million in space.
While Dimitroff believes they are not in ‘salary cap hell’ the raise could help them get a lot more creative with free agency.
READ NEXT: Falcons GM Sounds Off on Potential NFL Draft Trade