Chip Kelly

Eagles head coach Chip Kelly will have a good chunk of change to spend this offseason. (Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini)

(Jeff Haynes)

The unofficial start to NFL free agency begins on March 7, with teams able to officially sign players to the dotted line three days later on March 10.

How much money will the Eagles have to throw around?

On Monday it was reported that the NFL salary cap for 2015 will be $143.28 million, about two million more than what many projected it would come in at, and $10 million more than last season. The increased number gives the Eagles a little more to spend than expected, as they are now right around $10.6 million under the 2015 salay cap.

If they so choose, the Eagles have the ability to carry over $15 million in salary cap space from last season. Assuming they decide to do so, the Eagles should have around $26 million to spend in free agency.

The team opened up even more cap space on Tuesday by releasing veteran cornerback Cary Williams, as well as reportedly cutting outside linebacker Trent Cole and trading running back LeSean McCoy.

While teams do not open up their payroll to the public, so no numbers are official, here is a good breakdown of their cap situation:

Offense: $56.8 million

Defense $44.77 million

Special teams: $3.6 million

Dead money: $7.6 million

Total: $112.77 million

2015 NFL Salary Cap: $143.28 million

Eagles 2015 cap space: $17.38 million ($143.28 - $112.77)

Carryover cap space from 2014: $15.7 million

Total cap space for 2015 offseason spending: $46.01 million

Of that $46.01 million, roughly $5 million will have to be set aside for their 2015 NFL Draft class.

Depending on what the Eagles do with inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans ($6.8 million), that number could go up to

** Note: Numbers are from NFLPA, Spotrac and Over the Cap **



Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.