Colin Kaepernick's new $126 million extension with the San Francisco 49ers seems like a huge contract for a quarterback with 23 regular season starts, but it could be a relative bargain moving forward due to the anticipated NFL salary cap increases.

The salary cap will increase by $10 million per team this season and will increase even more in coming seasons.

The upper limit of the quarterback market, already at $20 million when the cap was $123 million per year, also will go up as the cap increases.

The high-water mark could soon be $25 million per year and then eventually hit $30 million.

The Carolina Panthers, for example, would be well-advised to quickly get a deal done with Cam Newton before these escalating salary figures kick in.