The Miami Dolphins’ continued spending overhaul underscores that all things must come in moderation
The Dolphins have dramatically shifted their standing in a cap management tool seemingly overnight.
The Miami Dolphins‘ spending strategy was perfectly summarized by new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan during an interview on Monday.
“We need to get younger and cheaper.”
Indeed. The execution of that strategy? It has offered a slew of impacts on the Dolphins thus far in Sullivan’s reign over the franchise. The team’s free agency approach featured an ambitious (but cost-effective) pivot to QB Malik Willis and nearly two dozen one-year contracts worth hardly over the minimum salary. It’s also seen the team crush the NFL record for dead cap, while also stripping away future debts. The shift is so dramatic that Miami has more than halved their debt tally in “void years” in just nine months.
Miami Dolphins’ void year debt halved in less than a year
In the summer of 2025, Miami ranked 8th in the NFL in salary cap debt in the way of “void years”. They surpassed a total of cap debt that exceeded $93 million. Fast forward to today, just nine months later, and Sullivan’s stripping down of the roster has dropped the Dolphins to 16th in the same debt measure.
The Dolphins’ current total, $45.3 million of future cap debt, includes a handful of contract adjustments from this year. That includes RB Devon Achane on a base salary conversion, the re-signing of TE Greg Dulcich, and Willis’ three-year, $67.5 million deal.
Sullivan was asked this week about void years as a tool by the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Schad. “I’m not a huge fan. Pay as you go, right? When you kick all that money out, at some point that can cause problems,” said Sullivan.
All things in moderation, as the saying goes. Too much of anything is a bad thing. The Dolphins likely don’t land Willis without the additional two years of debt storage for his $20M+ signing bonus. As you can see above, Sullivan’s old team the Packers ranks in the top-10 in the NFL in such debt. There’s a place for it in most every franchise across the league. A team in the midst of a hard reset isn’t in position to carry a high percentage of future debt.
Instead, they’re better suited to pay their past debts up front, which Miami is doing now. That same tool that got the last group running Miami in trouble is the one that helped them close Malik Willis. It is also allowing them to take their bad medicine of dead cap to this extreme. A little moderation allowed it to happen and Sullivan sounds keen on keeping it that way long-term.
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