Why this effort is happening now instead of, say, a month or two ago is an open question. Nonetheless, Pro Football Talk reports that the NFL is cooperating with an NFLPA effort to get the cap raised.
The impact on teams like the Falcons, who have a decent amount of room but could always use a little more, would be a good one. The impact on teams like the Saints and Steelers who have little-to-no money and are about to tie even more up into marquee free agents could be enormous. We don't have any specific numbers yet, but I'd welcome a few extra million to go after someone like Carl Nicks or Ben Grubbs.
So why the effort? During the months of grueling negotiations, someone forgot that the players' share of the revenue would only go toward so much in salaries and so much in benefits. The fact that benefits spiked this year—and some things changed from the 2011 uncapped year—means teams suddenly have less cap space. That's putting a hurt on several teams and probably led to grumbling around the league, which is why this effort is getting off the ground in the first place.
This just came out yesterday, but I'd expect a resolution within the next week or so. If it's going to happen, both the NFL and the union have an interest in getting it done right at the beginning of free agency.
Stay tuned for more.