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NFL teams spending more than $1 billion on players who won’t suit up for them in Week 1

By Frank T. Raines
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Carolina Panthers v Washington Commanders Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

One billion sixty-four million eight hundred fifty-five thousand three hundred forty-one dollars.

That is, according to the data I pulled from OverTheCap.com, the exact combined amount of cap space that the league’s 32 teams are spending on (a) dead money, (b) players on Injured Reserve, (c) players on the Physically Unable to Perform list, (d) players on the Non-Football Injury/Illness list, and (e) players who are currently suspended.

As of Tuesday evening.

Not surprisingly, dead money consumes the lion’s share of that with teams taking cap hits on 424 players, totaling $839,765,546.

That’s an average of $1,980,579 per player and $26,242,673 per team in dead money.

And, yes, Seattle is well above average on both counts. Taking a $26M cap hit by trading Russell Wilson virtually assured the Seahawks of that.

But it’s not just Russell Wilson sucking up almost a fourth of Seattle’s cap space; he has 17 other players helping him.

  • Bobby Wagner: $3,750,000
  • Duane Brown: $3,500,000
  • Chris Carson: $2,700,000
  • Quandre Diggs: $2,525,000
  • Benson Mayowa: $2,250,000
  • Gerald Everett: $2,000,000
  • Kerry Hyder: $1,700,000
  • Carlos Dunlap: $1,400,000
  • Ahkello Witherspoon: $1,250,000
  • Ethan Pocic: $1,000,000
  • Marquise Blair: $638,936
  • Cedric Ogbuehi: $350,000
  • Phil Haynes: $172,718
  • Alex Tchangam: $172,000
  • Ugo Amadi: $161,299
  • Joel Iyiebuniwe: $152,500
  • Justin Coleman: $152,500

Having 18 players with dead money against this year’s cap is tied for 4th-most league-wide.

The $2,782,621 average per player is 5th-most.

As is the $50,087,170 total.

Which brings up a mighty interesting question: Which teams are ahead of Seattle on these lists?

#1 is the Atlanta Falcons with an eye-popping $64,030,411 in dead money, split between a mere 8 players which also makes them #1 in average at $8,003,801 per player.

Fun Fact: Julio Jones accounts for the Falcons 3rd highest cap hit this season (Matt Ryan is #1) and is costing 3 teams cap space in 2022: Atlanta ($15.5M), Tennessee ($4.8M), and Tampa Bay ($2,029,058). And he’ll cost the Buccaneers another $3,456,236 in dead money in 2023 since his contract voids at the end of the season.

#2 is the Houston Texans who took the quantity approach by spreading $63,722,082 in dead money amongst a league-leading 32 players.

#3 on the dead money list is the Chicago Bears who split $62,098,363 between 16 players for an average of $3,881,148 per - also good for #3 league-wide.

The Philadelphia Eagles are #4 on the dead money list at $57,828,621 and are #2 on the players list with 24 players digging into that pile of money.

Who have we missed?

The Las Vegas Raiders are #3 on the players list with 23, but #6 on the overall list at $45,442,728.

The Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills are the teams who are tied with Seattle for 4th-most with at 18 players on their dead money list.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the 2nd-highest average at $3,970,825 per player (times 5 players, $19,854,123 total).

The Detroit Lions are #3 average-wise at $3,760,660 (6 players, $22,563,958).

Down at the opposite end of the scale, you’ve got the Los Angeles Chargers who have dead money hits for the fewest players (3) and the least amount of dead money overall ($3,915,409); and the New York Jets who have the lowest average ($412,585) and the 2nd-lowest total ($5,363,599).

And, because this wouldn’t be a proper Seahawks article without including our fiercest rivals:

  • The 49ers are 20th with $17,797,276 in dead money
  • The FTRs are 22nd with $15,972,902
  • Arizona is 24th with $14,863,267

And, yes, that means that the Seahawks have more dead money ($50,087,170) than the rest of the NFC West combined ($48,633,445).

Ouch!

Dead money only tells part of the story though - even if it is the biggest part.

In addition to the 423 players with $839,765,546 in dead money, NFL teams are spending:

  • $107,621,915 on 149 players who went on the IR list prior to the final cut deadline on Tuesday
  • $80,047,135 on 31 players who are on the PUP list
  • $9,171,717 on 11 players on the NFI list
  • $28,249,028 on 8 players who are currently suspended

Add that all up and you have $1,064,855,341 worth of salary cap space that is dedicated to 622 players; roughly 2/3rds of whom were either out of work as of Tuesday night or playing for other teams.

In some cases, the players were still with the team - example, Quandre Diggs has dead money on the Seahawks’ cap from his previous contract, and Phil Haynes has dead money on the Seahawks’ cap because he was released and then re-signed.

In most cases though, the players - and the teams - have moved on ... with only the memory of the contract (and the salary cap implications) remaining.

Bottom Line: With each team having $208.2M available this season, the league, as a whole, has $6,662,400,000 in salary cap space, but 16 percent of it is money that won’t benefit them come Week 1.

A complete list is in the Bonus Coverage section below.

Go Hawks!

Bonus Coverage

Dead Money by Team:

  1. Atlanta Falcons: $64,030,411 (8 players)
  2. Houston Texans: $63,722,082 (32)
  3. Chicago Bears: $62,098,363 (16)
  4. Philadelphia Eagles: $57,828,621 (24)
  5. Seattle Seahawks: $50,087,170 (18)
  6. Las Vegas Raiders: $45,442,728 (23)
  7. New Orleans Saints: $34,929,246 (14)
  8. New York Giants: $34,276,167 (15)
  9. Pittsburgh Steelers: $32,344,040 (14)
  10. Cleveland Browns: $30,963,270 (12)
  11. Jacksonville Jaguars: $30,307,042 (15)
  12. Carolina Panthers: $26,394,773 (17)
  13. Dallas Cowboys: $24,982,403 (18)
  14. Minnesota Vikings: $24,807,231 (16)
  15. Green Bay Packers: $24,761,469 (9)
  16. Detroit Lions: $22,563,958 (6)
  17. Buffalo Bills: $20,050,817 (18)
  18. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $19,854,123 (5)
  19. Denver Broncos: $19,100,038 (10)
  20. San Francisco 49ers: $17,797,276 (14)
  21. Tennessee Titans: $16,682,923 (13)
  22. Los Angeles Rams: $15,972,902 (6)
  23. Baltimore Ravens: $15,548,409 (13)
  24. Arizona Cardinals: $14,863,267 (9)
  25. New England Patriots: $14,182,834 (16)
  26. Kansas City Chiefs: $10,779,820 (9)
  27. Miami Dolphins: $10,626,053 (11)
  28. Cincinnati Bengals: $9,884,216 (7)
  29. Indianapolis Colts: $8,110,788 (10)
  30. Washington Commanders: $7,494,098 (9)
  31. New York Jets: $5,363,599 (13)
  32. Los Angeles Chargers: $3,915,409 (3)

Dead Money by Division

  • NFC South: $145,208,553 (44 players)
  • NFC North: $134,231,021 (47)
  • NFC East: $124,581,289 (66)
  • AFC South: $118,822,835 (70)
  • NFC West: $98,720,615 (47)
  • AFC North: $88,739,935 (46)
  • AFC West: $79,237,995 (45)
  • AFC East: $50,223,303 (58)

Dead Money by Conference

  • NFC: $502,741,478 (204 players)
  • AFC: $337,024,068 (219)

IR Commitments by Team

  1. Las Vegas Raiders: $7,895,000 (8 players)
  2. Denver Broncos: $6,793,332 (6)
  3. Miami Dolphins: $6,342,452 (9)
  4. Cleveland Browns: $6,254,395 (8)
  5. New England Patriots: $6,087,646 (4)
  6. Green Bay Packers: $6,080,254 (11)
  7. New York Jets: $5,510,740 (2)
  8. Detroit Lions: $4,480,253 (6)
  9. Indianapolis Colts: $4,297,048 (4)
  10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $4,173,334 (6)
  11. Carolina Panthers: $4,126,373 (5)
  12. Chicago Bears: $4,119,453 (6)
  13. New Orleans Saints: $3,908,395 (6)
  14. Houston Texans : $3,604,412 (3)
  15. New York Giants: $3,354,094 (5)
  16. Arizona Cardinals: $2,726,230 (5)
  17. Los Angeles Chargers: $2,714,999 (5)
  18. Washington Commanders: $2,644,833 (5)
  19. Los Angeles Rams: $2,405,255 (4)
  20. Baltimore Ravens: $2,302,303 (5)
  21. Minnesota Vikings: $2,279,477 (4)
  22. Cincinnati Bengals: $2,251,499 (5)
  23. Atlanta Falcons: $2,012,500 (4)
  24. Philadelphia Eagles: $1,927,500 (4)
  25. Pittsburgh Steelers: $1,870,000 (4)
  26. San Francisco 49ers: $1,856,666 (3)
  27. Dallas Cowboys: $1,798,332 (4)
  28. Seattle Seahawks: $1,420,243 (3)
  29. Jacksonville Jaguars: $1,069,897 (2)
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: $860,000 (2)
  31. Tennessee Titans: $455,000 (1)
  32. Buffalo Bills: $0 (0)

IR Commitments by Division

  • AFC West: $18,263,331 (21 players)
  • AFC East: $17,940,838 (15)
  • NFC North: $16,959,437 (27)
  • NFC South: $14,220,602 (21)
  • AFC North: $12,678,197 (22)
  • NFC East: $9,724,759 (18)
  • AFC South: $9,426,357 (10)
  • NFC West: $8,408,394 (15)

IR Commitments by Conference

  • AFC: $58,308,723 (68 players)
  • NFC: $49,313,192 (81)

PUP Commitments by Team

  1. Detroit Lions: $17,897,649 (4 players)
  2. Buffalo Bills: $17,451,265 (2)
  3. Washington Commanders: $10,058,936 (2)
  4. Baltimore Ravens: $9,500,000 (2)
  5. Miami Dolphins $5,871,000 (1)
  6. New York Giants: $4,190,740 (2)
  7. Cincinnati Bengals: $2,562,500 (1)
  8. Seattle Seahawks: $2,420,896 (3)
  9. Denver Broncos: $2,250,000 (1)
  10. Tennessee Titans: $1,535,346 (2)
  11. Minnesota Vikings: $1,400,000 (2)
  12. Philadelphia Eagles: $1,072,600 (2)
  13. Kansas City Chiefs: $1,071,768 (1)
  14. New York Jets: $910,000 (2)
  15. San Francisco 49ers: $480,000 (1)
  16. Green Bay Packers: $474,766 (1)
  17. Los Angeles Rams: $463,003 (1)
  18. New Orleans Saints: $436,666 (1)

PUP Commitments by Division

AFC East: $24,232,265 (5 players)

NFC North: $19,772,415 (7)

NFC East: $15,322,276 (6)

AFC North: $12,062,500 (3)

NFC West: $3,363,899 (5)

AFC West: $3,321,768 (2)

AFC South: $1,535,346 (2)

NFC South: $436,666 (1)

PUP Commitments by Conference

  • AFC: $41,151,879 (12 players)
  • NFC: $38,895,256 (19)

NFI Commitments by Team

  1. Detroit Lions: $3,174,871 (1 player)
  2. Houston Texans: $1,467,305 (1)
  3. New York Jets: $935,000 (2)
  4. Los Angeles Rams: $895,000 (1)
  5. New England Patriots: $880,900 (2)
  6. Dallas Cowboys: $490,639 (1)
  7. San Francisco 49ers: $463,003 (1)
  8. Philadelphia Eagles: $433,333 (1)
  9. Los Angeles Chargers: $431,666 (1)

NFI Commitments by Division

  • NFC North: $3,174,871 (1 player)
  • AFC East: $1,815,900 (4)
  • AFC South: $1,467,305 (1)
  • NFC West: $1,358,003 (2)
  • NFC East: $923,972 (2)
  • AFC West: $431,666 (1)

NFI Commitments by Conference

  • NFC: $5,456,846 (5 players)
  • AFC: $3,714,871 (6)

Suspension Commitments by Team

  1. Arizona Cardinals: $15,733,333 (1 player)
  2. Cleveland Browns: $9,395,500 (1)
  3. New England Patriots: $1,002,778 (1)
  4. Buffalo Bills: $906,618 (1)
  5. Los Angeles Rams: $739,133 (1)
  6. New Orleans Saints: $470,000 (1)
  7. Baltimore Ravens: $1,666 (1)
  8. Atlanta Falcons: $0 (1)

Suspension Commitments by Division

  • NFC South: $470,000 (2 players)
  • NFC West: $16,472,466 (2)
  • AFC East: $1,909,396 (2)
  • AFC North: $9,397,166 (2)

Suspension Commitments by Conference

  • NFC: $16,942,466 (4 players)
  • AFC: $11,306,562 (4)

Total Non-Week 1 Commitments by Team

  1. Houston Texans: $68,793,799 (36 players)
  2. Chicago Bears: $66,217,816 (22)
  3. Atlanta Falcons: $66,042,911 (13)
  4. Philadelphia Eagles: $61,262,054 (31)
  5. Seattle Seahawks: $53,928,309 (24)
  6. Las Vegas Raiders: $53,337,728 (31)
  7. Detroit Lions: $48,116,731 (17)
  8. Cleveland Browns: $46,613,165 (21)
  9. New York Giants: $41,821,001 (22)
  10. New Orleans Saints: $39,744,307 (22)
  11. Buffalo Bills: $38,408,700 (21)
  12. Pittsburgh Steelers: $34,214,040 (18)
  13. Arizona Cardinals: $33,322,830 (15)
  14. Jacksonville Jaguars: $31,376,939 (17)
  15. Green Bay Packers: $31,316,489 (21)
  16. Carolina Panthers: $30,521,146 (22)
  17. Minnesota Vikings: $28,486,708 (22)
  18. Denver Broncos: $28,143,370 (17)
  19. Baltimore Ravens: $27,352,378 (21)
  20. Dallas Cowboys: $27,271,374 (23)
  21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $24,027,457 (11)
  22. Miami Dolphins: $22,839,505 (21)
  23. New England Patriots: $22,154,158 (23)
  24. San Francisco 49ers: $20,596,945 (19)
  25. Los Angeles Rams: $20,475,293 (13)
  26. Washington Commanders: $20,197,867 (16)
  27. Tennessee Titans: $18,673,269 (16)
  28. Cincinnati Bengals: $14,698,215 (13)
  29. New York Jets: $12,719,339 (19)
  30. Kansas City Chiefs: $12,711,588 (12)
  31. Indianapolis Colts: $12,407,836 (14)
  32. Los Angeles Chargers: $7,062,074 (9)

Total Non-Week 1 Commitments by Division

  • NFC North: $174,137,744 (82 players)
  • NFC South: $160,335,821 (68)
  • NFC East: $150,552,296 (92)
  • AFC South: $131,251,843 (83)
  • NFC West: $128,323,377 (71)
  • AFC North: $122,877,79 (73)
  • AFC West: $101,254,760 (69)
  • AFC East: $96,121,702 (84)

Total Non-Week 1 Commitments by Conference

  • NFC: $613,349,238 (313 players)
  • AFC: $451,506,103 (309)

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