With the NFL salary cap set to see its biggest increase in a decade, we already knew the Carolina Panthers would have a nice amount of breathing room. On Thursday, they added a bit more.

Under the current CBA, each team has the option to carry over unused cap space from the previous season. The total carryover amount from 2015 is $203,963,112, so the average carryover per team is $6.4 million.

The official cap for the new league year hasn't been determined, but it's expected to rise by about $12 million from last season's $143.5 million cap. Once the new cap is set, the carryover amount and other adjustments from 2015 will be combined for each team’s official salary cap position.

The Panthers would be looking at starting the new league year between $20 and $30 million under the cap, but using the franchise tag on cornerback Josh Norman for nearly $14 million will eat up around half that.