The National football League is made up of 32 teams. Each team has a salary cap and this is the life blood of how each 53-man roster is governed. 

 

It's Playoff season in the NFL so since it's a special time in the American sports world, so let's break down one of the most watch sports traditions in the lives of so many American families for generations.

 

To do this let's analyze this portfolio as a project, in this article we will look at the salary cap of my favorite team the New England Patriots— a program. 

 

Story time 🥱

 

If I may, let's digress for a bit and compare this complex high-level thought to a time where I was starting off learning the guitar 🎸.

 

To this day I am not the type to understand fully how to read music off a tradition music sheet. My professor would spend countless hours trying to show me progressions and notes and how it all came together... 

 

Now I can play a multitude of songs with simply four cords— G cord, C cord, D, E and F cords. How did I accomplish this? Well YouTube and determination to learn songs that I personally liked . Additionally, I was in charge of learning the necessary parts and eliminating the unnecessary.

 

In Football, fans know that the right player NEEDS to be in the right system to achieve organizational success. This is the key to understanding the next level of what we are discussing in this article. We will be looking deeper using public knowledge, "the numbers", from overthecap.com, talking about how one team in particular makes each contract work, and talking how 3 phases of the game— offense , defense, and special teams come together to make beautiful music every football Sunday. 

 

 

🧠 Why this matters to the PMP

 

Project Management Professionals live in a world of finite resources, competing priorities, and stakeholder pressure. That reality is no different in the NFL.

 

The New England Patriots didn’t just stumble into another AFC Championship and Super Bowl appearance on February 8th—they managed their portfolio better than the competition. Winning at the highest level isn’t about spending the most money; it’s about allocating capital where it delivers the highest return. 

🚀Guiding Thought for the PMP:

 

As a project professional, what is your organizations North star ⭐ ✨, or highest return?

 

 

Total Cap Liabilities: ~$311.7M

Cap Space Available: ~$31M

Phase Allocation (Think: Strategic Buckets)

 

Offense: ~$144.5M

 - Drake Maye (QB)~9.6M (rookies earn less)

 

Defense: ~$143.2M

 - Christian Gonzalez(SS)~5M

 

Special Teams: ~$3.3M

 

 

This is not accidental symmetry. The Patriots have effectively balanced their portfolio between offense and defense, while treating special teams as a high-impact, low-cost initiative.

 

Offense = Revenue-generating initiatives

Defense = Risk mitigation & operational stability

Special Teams = Critical to overall success—this area should never overlooked, but cost savings are necessary just like in our projects. 

 

You don’t overspend where marginal gains are low—and you don’t underfund areas that protect the whole system. Risk management is important, and the cost of conformance vs. non conformance can cost you your season. 

 

 

(We discussed alot of numbers here and I want to reiterate the story of the guitar 🎸 — similar to the journey of the project professional, you do not need to understand EVERYTHING NOW. Read on to learn more similarities between the NFL 32 team portfolio and the benefits to landing in the right organization as a project professional.)

 

 

 

Every player contract represents:

A scope

A budget

A risk profile

An expected outcome

Cutting or retaining a player is no different than:

Sunsetting a low-performing project

Reallocating funds to a higher-impact initiative

Dead money is sunk cost. Cap savings are reclaimed budget. And just like enterprise portfolios, past decisions constrain future flexibility.

The Patriots’ ability to reach the Super Bowl while carrying this level of cap complexity is proof of disciplined governance.

 

💡 Bringing value to your team

 

Notice where the Patriots don’t chase value:

They avoid emotional investments,

They don’t overpay based on reputation alone, (as much as pats fans begged for star power),

They accept short-term discomfort for long-term health (3 years of being bottom of the league and in 2024, 4-13 season).

 

For PMPs, this translates to:

Saying no to projects that don’t align with strategy,

Ending initiatives that no longer deliver value, and

Protecting the portfolio, not individual egos.

 

Value is not about activity. It’s about outcomes—verified deliverables.

 

Stats,

Media narratives, and

Fan perception—

All influence contract leverage.

 

In project management:

Momentum,

Cost variance,

Stakeholder satisfaction, and

Delivery measurement (through KPI mapping)—

All influence your career capital.

 

KPIs tell the story of whether a project—or a professional—deserves continued investment.

 

 

Team balance matters more than individual brilliance,

Right fit beats talent without alignment,

Cap space, or constraints = strategic flexibility, and

Depth beats dependency

 

REMEMBER 

Winning portfolios are resilient portfolios, especially for long-term success. Build your roadmaps with this baked in!

 

 

🏁 Final Lessons Learned: How can a PMP land in the right organization?

 

 

1. 🧭 Being on the right team matters

 

In the NFL, the right system can:

Extend careers,

Maximize contract complications, and

Unlock peak performance.

The right organization amplifies your skills, while

The wrong one suppresses them.

Talent without alignment is wasted cap space, and leaves you with burnout/unfulfilled.

 

2. Like elite athletes, PMPs must evaluate:

Leadership philosophy

Investment patterns

How success is measured

Whether learning is rewarded

 

The Patriots didn’t reach the Super Bowl by accident. They did it by treating their team like a living portfolio—constantly evaluated, intentionally funded, and ruthlessly aligned to strategy.

That’s not just football.

That’s project management at championship level.

 

 

3. 🎸 Just like my earliest days learning guitar 

 

I want to encourage you to try different organizations and strategies. Learning this project and portfolio level of the NFL is not—easy— but what is really? Allow yourself the time and experiences necessary to become the best version of yourself. And that's why I love the NFL and every football Sunday . It's a masterclass in strumming together the best pieces necessary to produce beautiful music. And just like the New England Patriots 2025 season— that band and all those unique notes strummed together —may bring you, all the way— TO THE Superbowl. 

OverTheCap – New England Patriots Salary Cap

https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space