Heading into 2026, only three teams had ever had more than $100 million in dead cap in a single season, and those were the New Orleans Saints ($109 million), New York Jets ($108 million) and San Francisco 49ers ($103 million) in 2025.
According to Spotrac,
the Miami Dolphins are carrying a whopping $182.8 million in dead cap in their first season under new head coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan.This approach was deliberate by Miami's new regime, as they took over this offseason with aging players and others on contracts that they just weren't living up to. So rather than ride out an unremarkable season, they decided to cut bait with several big names.
That means that the following players account for the following amounts
toward the cap despite not playing for the team in 2026:
- QB Tua Tagovailoa - $55.4 million
- WR Tyreek Hill - $28.25 million
- WR Jaylen Waddle - $23.23 million
- DB Jalen Ramsey - $20.87 million
- DB Minkah Fitzpatrick - $13 million
- LB Bradley Chubb - $10.97 million
- OT Terron Armstead - $10.73 million
- OL James Daniels - $4.8 million
- QB Zach Wilson - $3.8 million
- FB Alec Ingold - $2 million
- LB Tyrel Dodson - $1.94 million
- TE Jonnu Smith - $1.65 million
- WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine - $1.6 million
- LB Matthew Judon -$1.3 million
- 40 other players (all under $1 million each) - $3.17 million
Miami taking their medicine this year should help them speed up their rebuild under Sullivan and Hafley. Next year, the Dolphins are projected to have over $104 million in cap space. They'll still have $56.86 million tied up in dead cap, and that number will likely rise even more, but they'll be in a better position to find success, especially if they land a top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft as well.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: Dolphins have a historic amount of dead cap heading into 2026
