​When the cap was expected to grow by 10% annually, it rose faster than player salaries. Now that dynamic has flipped. The cap is creeping upward, but the salaries tied to those old 8% raises are climbing faster than the cap itself. That creates a squeeze for teams, reducing their ability to improve rosters in future seasons. Do the math on the constraint. Suppose you have two players at the 35% max, consuming 70% of your cap space. That leaves 30% for everyone else. With a $228 million cap, that 30% equates to $68.4 million to build out your depth. But if the 2029-30 cap lands at only $193 million as projected, the same 30% amounts to $57.9 million. The roster structure is the same, but you have $10 million less to work with.