Cap Crunch: A Look at the Current (and Future) Cap Situation for every Franchise

[Piercewise1]

Cap management is a key part of any pro sim. Money is the great equalizer, offering players great personal success (wealth) to join a team in pursuit of on-field success (wins). It’s one of the two major sources of capital (along with draft picks) and works faster. But mismanage your cap and you’ll wind up with neither players nor prospects.

Today I’ll be looking at every team’s current (and future) cap situation, as well as key players that will be eligible for extensions later this year, i.e. players in the final year of their current contracts. I’ll cover a few things:

·         How much cap space the team has next year

·         How many players are on the final year of their contract*

·         How much those players are currently making this year*

*Only counting players making more than $500K, to weed out reserves and practice squad fodder.

For the expense calculation I am considering the Bonus amount paid to that player, even if it’s not paid by the current team. In other words, a player might only be costing his team $2M this year in Salary after they traded for him, but if his original contract had $3M in Bonus I’ll be considering that part of his expense. The idea is to compare the expected cost of the player going forward with the team’s ability to pay. Of course this is just an estimate: we measure contracts on calculated Value, not AAV, and beyond just the length or % Bonus of a contract there are many other factors that can impact how much they make, like age and expected progression or regression. But hopefully the numbers should be good enough for a high-level exercise.  

Commissioner’s note: this analysis is part of my ongoing effort to create better Value expectations for veteran players than the inflated numbers we used for the last round of extensions & free agency. It’s still in the early stages, but I thought the data was interesting so I packaged some of it into this bit of media. I hope you enjoy!

Final caveat: everything in this article is based on an extract taken at a specific point in time, so there could be small inaccuracies based on trades or signings from within the last week that I missed. And now, on to the teams!

Arizona Cardinals

2025 Cap Space: 87.5M (3^rd most)

Players in final contract year: 13

Cost of contract year players: $65.7M

Key Players:
RB Thomas Gesick (80/7) - $5.0M
DT Leon Payne (79/7) - $9.4M
C Anthony Helton (78/7) - $6.0M
ILB Dennis Jones (75/8) - $7.9M

Status: Room to breathe

Most of these 13 players are UDFAs that the Cardinals gave an inexplicable amount of money to sign for just 1 year, so dropping a few of them could clear up space fast. They should be able to keep the veterans they want, for a price: many of Gesick’s 80+ peers are making double what he is this year, for example.

 

Atlanta Falcons

2025 Cap Space: 48.6M (20^th)

Players in final contract year: 3

Cost of contract year players: $10.7

Key Players:
TE Jin Zhong (77/8) - $5.3M
RB Wayne Ricketts (74/8) - $4.6M

Status: money to burn

The Falcons have plenty of space to retain these two quality starters and go after whoever they want in free agency next year. Both seem fairly paid at present for their skill level and will be 31 by next season, so they shouldn’t be falling off a cliff talent-wise.

 

Baltimore Ravens

2025 Cap Space: $25.2M (31^st)

Players in final contract year: 4

Cost of contract year players: $34.2M

Key Players:
QB David Chop (82/8) - $21.6M
OT Robert Anderson (76/7) - $10.6M

Status: in trouble

The Ravens have very little space going into next year but have two franchise players at key positions to negotiate with. Chop is already the highest-paid QB in the sim and won’t be keen on a pay cut if he’s still at 80+ Overall. Anderson is likewise at a reasonable rate, but replicating that over multiple years will be expensive.

 

Buffalo Bills

2025 Cap Space: $22.8M (32^nd)

Players in final contract year: 7

Cost of contract year players: $22.3M

Key Players:
C Fred Garland (78/7) - $6.0M
SS Patrick Collins (75/7) - $5.4M
CB Alvin Annan (75/4) - $4.8M

Status: tough decisions ahead

The Bills currently have the least amount of cap space available for next year, and all three of the named players above are on expiring team-friendly deals. Someone’s getting a raise (or a lot of guaranteed money into their twilight years), or someone’s getting let go.

 

Carolina Panthers

2025 Cap Space: $39.5M (29^th)

Players in final contract year: 14

Cost of contract year players: $39.1M

Key Players:
OT Peter Smith (81/6) - $14.7M
WR Russell Barnes (81/5) - $5.8M
DE Aaron Stokes (80/5) - $5.8M

Status: tough decisions ahead

These Carolina players aren’t just good, they’re young; they’ve got 3-4 years of prime football ahead of them, so they can demand premium rates for their services. Stokes and Barnes in particular will expect huge raises to stay with the team, and Carolina already went on a big spending spree just last year.  

 

Chicago Bears

2025 Cap Space: $72.6M (4^th)

Players in final contract year: 9

Cost of contract year players: $65.1M

Key Players:
QB Gerard Lewis (78/8) - $15.8M
C Orlando Deberry (82/8) - $9.6M
SS Calvin Preston (83/7) - $8.6M
DT Reyes Dzul (77/8) - $8.6M

Status: getting interesting

The good news for Chicago is that these players are already near the top of their position groups in pay, so it seems like the team has the money to bring them back. Of course if the Bears want to go in a different direction, that’s a lot of cash to spend on the next guy.

 

Cincinnati Bengals

2025 Cap Space: $42.2M (27^th)

Players in final contract year: 15

Cost of contract year players: $41.5M

Key Players:
QB Jeremiah West (76/7) - $14.4M
ILB Russell Craw (79/7) - $7.9M

Status: tough decisions ahead

Most of those 15 players are depth pieces, but West and Craw really stand out as needs. With limited space, the Bengals are going to have to prioritize either signing these big names or having strong reserves to fill out their bench.

 

Cleveland Browns

2025 Cap Space: $46.0M (24^th)

Players in final contract year: 15

Cost of contract year players: $49.3M

Key Players:
OLB Michael Malone (74/9) - $15.0M
FS Robert Davis (84/7) - $9.6M
ILB Louis Dell (77/8) - $7.2M

Status: tough decisions ahead

Davis is tied for the highest Overall at his position, but is already the highest-paid as well; maybe he could be convinced to stay at that level on a long-term deal. Malone’s contract is already the envy of OLBs everywhere, so the Browns have to hope he’s willing to settle a bit if the 31-year-old wants to finish his career in Cleveland.

 

Dallas Cowboys

2025 Cap Space: $43.4M (26^th)

Players in final contract year: 5

Cost of contract year players: $35.6M

Key Players:
OT Neil Hankins (78/8) - $11.5M
WR Edwin Chabolla (80/7) - $8.6M
C Miguel Robertson (76/7) - $6.0M

Status: getting interesting

For the level of talent on their roster, the Cowboys are actually in a good place cap-wise; they have enough to re-sign their stars and bring in a new draft class on top of that. Just don’t expect a splash in free agency unless one of these big names doesn’t return.

 

Denver Broncos

2025 Cap Space: $40.9M (28^th)

Players in final contract year: 8

Cost of contract year players: $50.9M

Key Players:
DT Philip Nagel (85/8) - $12.5M
CB George Kent (84/7) - $9.6M
TE Carmine Rhodes (82/7) - $7.2M
CB Keith Remy (77/7) - $6.6M
FB Michael Carter (87/8) - $5.1M

Status: in trouble

With the contracts from the Carolina megadeal expiring, the Broncos will have to make some hard decisions. Kent and Remy in particular will be looking for big paydays, and Nagel has yet to be dethroned as the highest-rated DT in the league.  

 

Detroit Lions

2025 Cap Space: $49.6M (17^th)

Players in final contract year: 7

Cost of contract year players: $30.1M

Key Players:
QB Randall Hansen (70/4) - $10.2M
OLB William Edwards (76/10) - $9.1M

Status: room to breathe

Edwards will be 33 next year, so he might become a cap casualty if the Lions are worried about regression. But the big question is Hansen: how much will he ask for as a QB just entering his prime, and will the Lions be willing to pay it with an aging roster everywhere else?

 

Green Bay Packers

2025 Cap Space: $69.7M (5^th)

Players in final contract year: 14

Cost of contract year players: $54.7M

Key Players:
OLB James Stewart (81/8) - $13.4M
QB Joseph Garibay (80/6) - $11.4M
WR Walter Nwachukwu (78/5) - $10.6M
FS Timothy Sulton (74/8) - $6.0M

Status: room to breathe

It’s amazing how fast $70M could disappear from just a few veteran contracts. Nwachukwu only costs the Packers $2.7M this year post-trade, but he’ll want north of $10M to stick around. And Garibay is a bona fide franchise QB with plenty of great years in front of him, which will be expensive. The good news is that his age makes a 5-year contract palatable, so the team can stretch that expense out a bit.  

 

Houston Texans

2025 Cap Space: $115.2M (1^st)

Players in final contract year: 13

Cost of contract year players: $26.1M

Key Players:
DE James Kiger (84/8) - $11.5M

Status: money to burn

Anyone hoping to make a move in free agency next year better check out Houston’s needs first. The team will be loaded with cash and able to make just about any offer to any player they want.

 

Indianapolis Colts

2025 Cap Space: $46.7M (23^rd)

Players in final contract year: 28

Cost of contract year players: $55.5M

Key Players:
OT Mark Bishop (77/7) - $10.6M
WR Daniel Elswick (83/5) - $9.4M
CB Paul Clark (74/9) - $8.3M

Status: in trouble

The good news for the Colts is that half of these 28 expiring contracts are UDFAs that don’t have to come back if the team isn’t impressed. The bad news is that even just focusing on a few veterans will leave them with less space than many of their free agency competition. Elswick will likely be top-3 at his position after this season, so even his current rates might not be enough.

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

2025 Cap Space: $38.2M (30^th)

Players in final contract year: 3

Cost of contract year players: $21.9M

Key Players:
OLB Kirk Ridley (81/7) - $13.4M
DE Jeffrey Amend (77/7) - $7.9M

Status: room to breathe

After offloading several veterans before the 2023 trade deadline, the Jaguars are in decent cap shape. They don’t have a ton of available capital, but they’ll be able to make competitive offers to Ridley and Amend or let them go and spend elsewhere. Just probably not both.

 

Kansas City Chiefs

2025 Cap Space: $47.8M (21^st)

Players in final contract year: 17

Cost of contract year players: $31.6M

Key Players:
SS William Redman (76/7) - $5.4M
OT Douglas Decker (66/4) - $5.2M
OG Gregorio Castro (65/5) - $5.1M

Status: room to breathe

The Chiefs don’t have any megadeals to worry about, but if Decker and Castro progress well they could wind up asking for a big raise. But again, re-signing players still in progression years means you have plenty of time to stretch out their contract and minimize the cost.

 

Las Vegas Raiders

2025 Cap Space: $52.4M (14^th)

Players in final contract year: 7

Cost of contract year players: $37.4M

Key Players:
OT Nelson Garcia (85/7) - $16.3M
OLB Larry Bushong (73/8) - $9.2M
SS Jeffrey Cullum (76/8) - $5.9M

Status: room to breathe

Garcia is the highest-rated OT in the league, so even entering his age-30 season he should have plenty of good football left in him. Bushong and Cullum have lower ceilings, but could still garner good deals since the Raiders have the space to pay them.

 

Los Angeles Chargers

2025 Cap Space: $60.0M (9^th)

Players in final contract year: 16

Cost of contract year players: $35.8M

Key Players:
CB John Warnock (82/8) - $9.6M
WR Keith Davis (79/8) - $8.6M
OG Ramon Diaz (86/5) - $6.8M

Status: room to breathe

There are now two guards in the league earning north of $20M a year, and Diaz could surpass both their Overalls next year – his demands are going to be outrageous. Warnock is well-compensated and Davis is pretty close, but both could take a significant chunk out of whatever’s left from that $60M.

 

Los Angeles Rams

2025 Cap Space: $53.6M (12^th)

Players in final contract year: 7

Cost of contract year players: $65.5M

Key Players:
OT Sung Liu (84/8) - $16.3M
WR Anthony Larry (80/5) - $9.4M
DT Mario Sisneros (78/8) - $9.4M
WR Scott Baldwin (79/7) - $8.6M
ILB Tram Singh (77/7) - $7.9M
TE Kerry Slomba (80/8) - $7.2M
CB Edward Rivera (76/8) - $6.6M

Status: in trouble

There’s just not enough money to keep this entire cast together. It could come down to the biggest demands, or who regresses most, but at least a couple of these names will be in different uniforms next year. Unless the Rams want to be still writing them Bonus checks in 2030.

 

Miami Dolphins

2025 Cap Space: $53.6M (13^th)

Players in final contract year: 5

Cost of contract year players: $46.1M

Key Players:
QB Dean Hammonds (82/7) - $21.6M
ILB Michael Berger (77/11) - $9.33M

Status: getting interesting

This is entirely about Hammonds – everyone else will be 33 or older so they seem unlikely to return except at an extreme discount. But Hammonds will be 30 years young and still the best pure passer in the league – he’ll want to reset the bar for QB compensation.  

 

Minnesota Vikings

2025 Cap Space: $53.8M (11^th)

Players in final contract year: 7

Cost of contract year players: $50.3M

Key Players:
OT Charles Seay (82/8) - $16.0M
ILB Gordon Wilburn (84/7) - $11.5M
DE Paul Munford (77/7) - $7.9M

Status: tough decisions ahead

Minnesota has enough capital to retain two players who are already the highest-paid at their positions. The question is, does that line up with the best interests of the franchise? Would they be willing to downgrade if it meant more cap space for free agents elsewhere? We’ll see.

 

New England Patriots

2025 Cap Space: $44.5M (25^th)

Players in final contract year: 1

Cost of contract year players: $3.9M

Key Players:
OG Roosevelt Penn (79/5) - $3.9M

Status: money to burn

The Patriots already had their file sale in the offseason, leaving them with only three players making more than $5M this year. So there’s plenty of space to make big moves next season; Penn’s contract would only be a drop in the bucket.

 

New Orleans Saints

2025 Cap Space: $97.0M (2^nd)

Players in final contract year: 18

Cost of contract year players: $39.1M

Key Players:
C Walter Arrasmith (83/7) – $9.6M
CB Arther Medrano (83/5) - $7.9M

Status: money to burn

Same story, different conference. These guys are two of the only big earners on the Saints current squad, so the team could make them both rich and still have a mountain of cash to spend in free agency next year. Given their youth and the state of the roster, it seems like a good investment.

 

New York Giants

2025 Cap Space: $49.5M (18^th)

Players in final contract year: 7

Cost of contract year players: $47.7M

Key Players:
WR Mathew Madden (84/8) - $20.2M
QB Lamar Johnson (77/8) - $15.8M

Status: tough decisions ahead

Johnson’s price tag might mean it’s time to begin the Wilfredo Joseph era in East Rutherford. Will the team shell out to keep Madden and Paul Canha on the field together to help him out? Or will Madden move on to his 4^th team in as many years?

 

New York Jets

2025 Cap Space: $47.8M (22^nd)

Players in final contract year: 9

Cost of contract year players: $49.5M

Key Players:
OLB Jacob Wiseman (82/8) - $13.4M
DT Richard Crawford (78/7) - $8.6M
C Joel Hudson (73/8) - $6.6M

Status: tough decisions ahead

The Jets new ownership made a lot of bold moves this year, so it’s anyone’s guess whether they bring these big names back or spend the money on different positions and archetypes. All three seem pretty fairly paid for their Overall scores, but the Jets would be paying the full value out of their own pocket this time.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

2025 Cap Space: $50.3M (16^th)

Players in final contract year: 9

Cost of contract year players: $44.2M

Key Players:
WR Gilberto Silva (84/7) - $11.5M
OT Brad Wells (77/7) - $10.6M
DT Michael Cuevas (78/7) - $8.6M

Status: getting interesting

Silva will likely ask for a Madden-level contract, which could be difficult for the Eagles to manifest unless someone else gets the boot. And don’t overlook Wells, who is also actually underpaid currently as a high-level player at a premium position.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

2025 Cap Space: $56.7M (10^th)

Players in final contract year: 9

Cost of contract year players: $45.9M

Key Players:
QB Robert Morris (77/7) - $14.4M
OT James Knoll (80/5) - $12.6M
WR Paul Gurule (83/7) - $11.5M

Status: getting interesting

Pittsburgh’s offseason will come down to these three players, as all are highly-rated stars at key positions. The Steelers have the money to pay them all, but would likely spend the rest of the offseason sitting on their hands and waiting for game day.

 

San Francisco 49ers

2025 Cap Space: $51.0M (15^th)

Players in final contract year: 3

Cost of contract year players: $8.7M

Key Players:
ILB Samuel Bronson (76/8) - $7.2M

Status: money to burn

The 49ers have a middling amount of cap space on paper, but Bronson is the only guy higher than 64 Overall (currently) who they need to pay. So they could be right up there with Houston and New Orleans as big spenders in free agency next year.

 

Seattle Seahawks

2025 Cap Space: $66.3M (7^th)

Players in final contract year: 8

Cost of contract year players: $41.6M

Key Players:
OT Jacob Kerns (77/8) – $11.5M
OLB Brandon Schroeder (84/4) - $11.0M
DE Paul Huffman (75/8) - $7.2M

Status: room to breathe

Schroeder is a unicorn and will likely peak as the highest-rated player in sim history, so Seattle would be justified in giving him whatever he wants. And even after paying him and Kerns they would have enough to make some additions in free agency. At this point the only mystery is how much he’ll ask for.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2025 Cap Space: $69.1M (6^th)

Players in final contract year: 6

Cost of contract year players: $30.0M

Key Players:
DE Brian Yokum (79/7) - $7.9M
RB Max Smith (82/7) - $6.3M
SS Christopher Lowe (75/8) - $5.4M

Status: money to burn

Tampa has a lot of space and relatively few veteran contracts to worry about, so if any of these guys don’t return I imagine it will be due more to scheme fit or on-field performance than money. Smith is the most underpaid currently, making barely half of some other backs with a lower Overall than his.

 

Tennessee Titans

2025 Cap Space: $62.0M (8^th)

Players in final contract year: 12

Cost of contract year players: $44.6M

Key Players:
ILB Michael Damme (73/9) - $10.6M
OLB Jesus Avalos (76/8) - $9.2M
FS Joshua Johnstone (77/7) - $6.6M
CB William Johnson (75/8) - $6.6M

Status: room to breathe

Damme and Avalos were both trade acquisitions, so re-upping their contracts will mean taking up a larger chunk of Tennessee’s resources. But at a position that has seen relatively few high-level young prospects entering the league in recent years, it might be worth it.

 

Washington Commanders

2025 Cap Space: $48.9M (19^th)

Players in final contract year: 7

Cost of contract year players: $52.5M

Key Players:
DT Robert Miller (84/7) - $12.5M
OLB Pierre Smith (75/7) - $8.4M
OG Jason Naylor (86/8) - $8.2M
DE James Wood (75/10) - $8.0M

Status: tough decisions ahead

Washington’s trade-heavy strategy has gotten them a lot of veteran play at a discount. Now that they’re faced with the entire bill, will they be willing to pay it? Even if they are, it seems like someone will have to go to clear up space for the rest.

[kgreene829]

Yeah we are aware we are in a bit of a money crunch we're looking to move on from Anderson so we don't have to pay him and are also looking to trade DE Robert Jackson to free up cap space. With that said once we get past this year we should be in a better spot cap wise with the players on expiring contracts we would be looking to bring back being players we drafted in the 2022 draft.