:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/29840105/20131229_jla_sq9_142.0.jpg)
The 2014 NFL league year begins at 4PM ET this afternoon, and with it, veteran contracts will expire and free agency will officially begin.
Overthecap.com (via Rotoworld.com) published a team-by-team breakdown of salary cap space in advance of the start of free agency, and their numbers show that the Buffalo Bills have $22,446,638 in cap room heading into the new league year. It's the fourteenth-highest total in the NFL, putting them essentially in the middle of the pack.
Hurting the Bills' overall cap space is their more than $12 million in dead money, which Overthecap.com says is the fourth-highest amount in the league. $7 million of that belongs to quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who was designated a post-June 1 cut last March. Add in the fact that Mario Williams counts for $18.8 million against the cap this year, and it's easy to surmise why the Bills don't have more money to work with.
Buffalo can free up a bit more room by releasing veterans - the most likely to go seems like veteran quarterback Kevin Kolb - but for now, that $22.4 million figure is the one to keep in mind when free agency begins later on today.