Dead Money Leaders in NFL 2026

The NFL’s salary cap is exploding with dead money, and the Arizona Cardinals are stuck fifth with $73.3M — mostly thanks to Kyler Murray’s contract. But they’re not even close to the worst: the Miami Dolphins lead with a jaw-dropping $179.2M, fueled by Tua Tagovailoa’s $55.4M hit, while the Saints and Jets also carry over $100M each. These lingering contracts from past seasons are crippling teams’ ability to build for the future — and it’s a headache for everyone but the Dolphins, who are basically paying ghosts. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/7ff904574e515052