With the player additions mostly finalized for this offseason, many fans are curious where the Panthers stand in terms of cap space and distribution. In this series, we’ll take a look at just how much the Panthers have tied up in specific position groups over the next couple of seasons, what contracts could be terminated or extended, and what percentage of the cap each group takes up. For this series, I’ll be using the numbers at Over the Cap. First up, the quarterbacks!
On the Books
The Carolina Panthers currently
have about $16 million in fully guaranteed contracts for their quarterbacks going into the season. About $12 million of that is the money for the fourth year of Bryce Young’s rookie contract, while the other $4 million is Kenny Pickett’s one year, fully guaranteed deal. The Panthers also signed Will Grier to a $1.2 million one year deal with zero guarantees, so we can basically ignore his contract for the time being. We can also mention but not laser in on Haynes King’s deal worth $250,000 guaranteed.
Next Year
The only money going to quarterbacks in 2027 for the Carolina Panthers is Bryce’s $25.9 million fully guaranteed fifth year option that was recently picked up by the team. Aside from that, the Panthers have no financial obligations at quarterback beyond this season. With the fifth year option being fully guaranteed, it is also (almost) fully guaranteed that Bryce Young will be in Carolina next season as well. The Panthers could potentially lower that cap hit by extending Young, though they would be wise to wait and not fall into the Daniel Jones trap.
Measuring Up
Between Young and Pickett, the Panthers have about 5.2% of this year’s cap going to the quarterbacks. On average, NFL teams spend about 9.15% on that position, though quarterback is definitely the position with the highest variability due to the importance and limited number of quality quarterbacks. The Panthers currently sit 23rd in the league, with the Bengals (17.9%) and Rams (16.76%) leading the league. Even Bryce Young’s fifth year option would only put the Panthers around the middle of the pack around 9%. The Saints are actually spending the least amount on quarterbacks this season with only 1.62% of their cap dedicated to the position.
