Laremy Tunsil’s shocking contract details reveal Commanders’ plans to win now with long-term protection

The Commanders put together a masterclass of a contract extension for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, and it leaves them in a healthy position.

Josh Taylor — Washington Commanders News Writer
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The Washington Commanders have made plenty of impactful moves this offseason, but their biggest was getting a deal done early with their best player.

Last offseason, we saw Adam Peters and WR Terry McLaurin drag out a contract extension holdout until just before the season started, which backfired. Things were different this year as the Commanders and Laremy Tunsil got a deal done during free agency.

It was a massive market-resetting deal, but the actual details will absolutely surprise you.

Commanders reached a quick extension for Laremy Tunsil

Tunsil was projected to be one of the team’s highest salary cap hits of the 2026 season on the final year of his deal, but we knew a contract extension was in the works. Peters repeatedly stressed that the two parties were in talks about the deal and that he wanted it done much sooner than McLaurin’s. Well, he was right after a deal was reached on the first day of free agency.

Tunsil said his two-year, $60.2 million extension was the quickest of his career, and he was well paid. Peters also did a great job of structuring the extension for the Commanders to win now with a low salary cap hit, but also kept the door open to keep Tunsil around for even longer.

Laremy Tunsil’s contract extension details emerge

Tunsil’s contract details show he received $52.6 million in guaranteed money at signing, but his 2026 salary cap hit is just $11.9 million, which is significantly lower than projected. His salary cap only goes up to $17.2 million in 2027, but takes a big jump to $42.2 million in 2028. The reason they did this is so they could either restructure, extend, or get out of his contract in 2028.

There’s an out in 2028 where the contract would essentially be a two-year, $53.4 million deal, but it would come with $38.7 million in dead cap, which they could also spread across two years.

The Commanders still have the second-most salary cap space in the NFL, despite also spending the most this offseason, and it’s because of how Peters structured Tunsil and Oweh’s hefty contracts. They have roughly $52 million as the last few contracts trickle in, but it shouldn’t change too much from those.

The door is still open to make any big moves that present themselves, but the Commanders also have a healthy salary cap situation for the future with plenty of ways to get out of the contracts if things go south.

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