The steep increase in the salary cap does increase the odds of a team attempting to sign away another club’s restricted free agent. As the cap rises, so do players’ salaries, making that tactic a potentially expensive one.
For example, it was rumored Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi sought a deal with an average annual value between $6 million and $7 million. He eventually settled for a three-year deal worth an AAV of $5 million.
If Rossi was seeking $7 million annually, no other team was willing to make the offer. That’s probably because they felt the Wild would match, but it could also be that a rival club didn’t want to risk that he wouldn’t meet expectations.
Had Rossi signed an offer sheet, the compensation price would have been costly.
A contract worth between $4,680,076 and $7,020,113 would cost the signing team their first- and third-round picks in the 2026 draft. An offer between $7,020,113 and $9,360,153 would have cost a first-, a second- and a third-rounder.