Salary Determinants and the Salary Cap in the NFL

This thesis examines the main determinants of National Football League (NFL) players' salaries and percentage cap values in the team with focus placed on players with veteran NFL contracts. Furthermore, it extends the existing literature by adding the analyses of defense skill position players alongside with the study of individual positions and by being up to date with the latest ratification of the Collective bargaining agreement (CBA). To measure the effect and significance of chosen independent variables on the players' salaries, OLS and quantile regression are used for offense and defense skill position analyses, followed by an additional OLS regression of individual positions. One of the most important findings of the thesis is that the player's percentage cap value shows a significant positive dependency on the draft position even during senior contracts. Moreover, the player's performance constructed using the fantasy football statistics has been proven positive and highly significant across all positions. Keywords American Football, NFL, Salaries, Draft Title Salary Determinants and the Salary Cap in the NF