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Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporter
The challenge for the great teams in a salary cap league is staying great.
In the NFL, as players start to play better and help teams compete for and win Super Bowls, they obviously start to deserve more money. The trick is to re-sign stars or replenish with draft picks, and deciding when to take each path is what makes cap management a jigsaw puzzle. The best teams often seem to be the ones with the toughest decisions.
That brings us to the 2023 season’s Super Bowl teams. The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers gave us an all-time classic matchup that we’d love to see again. But while it’s possible these two teams could meet in the Super Bowl again next season in New Orleans, it’s not going to be easy. And even if they can get there, the odds are they’ll both look different.
The Chiefs and 49ers each have key free agents they need to decide whether to re-sign or let walk. They both have stars who are due for contract extensions, either this offseason or very soon. And neither has a ton of cap space.
But yes, it can be done. Both the Chiefs and 49ers have the ability, with some salary cap maneuvering, to pay everybody and bring back their Super Bowl rosters. It won’t be easy, and I’m not sitting here saying that’s what will happen. But we wanted to map out a couple of blueprints for how the Super Bowl LVIII participants can keep their rosters together. Let’s start with the champs.
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Chiefs | 49ers
Key free agents: DT Chris Jones, CB L’Jarius Sneed, LT Donovan Smith, LB Willie Gay, DT Derrick Nnadi, RB Jerick McKinnon, RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire, S Mike Edwards, WR Mecole Hardman, P Tommy Townsend, DE Mike Danna, G Nick Allegretti, LB Drue Tranquill
Extension candidates: LB Nick Bolton, C Creed Humphrey, G Trey Smith, TE Noah Gray
Potential cuts for cap savings: WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling, S Justin Reid, DE Charles Omenihu