Las Vegas Raiders’ open head coaching gig just got so much more enticing to Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak

The Raiders are projected to have the second most cap space available.

Justin Churchill — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer
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This week, the NFL raised the 2026 salary cap to an estimated $303 million per team. Teams will spend more in free agency, but free agent contracts may also cost more.

For the Las Vegas Raiders, this means they will have even more money to play with, and they already are expected to have the second-most cap space. According to FOX Sports, the Raiders are expected to have $88.7 million in available cap space. This is significant, as more cap room could make the Raiders’ head coaching position more attractive to potential candidates such as Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who has been mentioned as the leader for the job.

New league salary cap helps entice Klint Kubiak to take the Raiders job

The Raiders are searching for their next head coach. They are down to Kubiak, with Carolina Panthers DC Ejiro Evero as the backup plan if Kubiak decides to stay in Seattle, which he may. Some may view the Raiders’ situation as challenging—a roster with no proven QB, a franchise lacking recent success, and frequent coaching changes.

Those factors can certainly deter a head coach. However, for Kubiak or whoever takes the role, having plenty of cap space provides an opportunity to start forming a roster to their liking.

Additionally, the team will soon have its quarterback in Fernando Mendoza, who will be on a rookie contract for several years. The available funds can be used to improve the roster beyond what Vegas had at the end of 2025, with the potential to create more cap space by cutting some players.

This is a good situation for the next Raiders head coach. In fact, this is the best situation a new head coach of the Raiders will be walking into in quite some time. A large reason is the raised salary cap.

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