Looking back at the Miami Dolphins’ new NFL record and the competition they beat along the way
The Miami Dolphins have shattered the record for dead cap in a season. Whose marks did they blow past?
This isn’t exactly the kind of records you want to be setting. But the Miami Dolphins do indeed have the top spot in NFL history for dead cap in a single season.
Miami is pushing for for nearly $180 million in dead cap charges. They’ll probably get there after the team cuts to 53 players at the end of the Summer, too. In all, it’s north of 60% of this year’s salary cap allotment. Call it whatever you want: necessary, Chris Grier’s legacy, whatever. It is what it is — and there’s no going back. But who are the teams that Miami’s mark bested? And does it tell us anything about the outlook of what is to come in South Florida?
The Miami Dolphins have shattered the dead cap record but whose marks did they beat?
- 2026 Miami Dolphins – $179.2M
- 2026 Cleveland Browns – $116.78M
- 2026 New Orleans Saints – $114.1M
- 2026 New York Jets – $111.2M
- 2025 New Orleans Saints – $109M
- 2025 New York Jets – $108.1M
- 2025 San Francisco 49ers – $103.6M
- 2022 Chicago Bears – $93.28M
- 2024 Denver Broncos – $89.0M
- 2025 Seattle Seahawks – $88.1M
- 2025 Philadelphia Eagles – $85.7M
- 2025 Cleveland Browns – $85.0M
– All figures courtesy of Spotrac
The top four marks for dead cap in NFL history have all been allocated this offseason — so there’s not a lot of historical precedent for the $110M+ dead cap club. And there’s no historical precedent for the next three teams, either — as the Saints, Jets and 49ers all logged over $100 million in dead cap charges this past season but have yet to play another game.
As a matter of fact, only two franchises in the top-12 of dead cap charges all-time (per Spotrac) have played a season since logging their high water mark in dead cap. Those teams, the 2022 Chicago Bears and the 2024 Denver Broncos, were both playoff teams in 2025. Denver, of course was the No. 1 seed in the AFC and had to play the AFC Championship Game without their starting quarterback. Chicago won the NFC North at 11-6.
So these sweeping changes are capable of bringing healthy change.
And it’s also worth noting that dead cap doesn’t have to be a kiss of death for team’s outlook. It can and should be a healthy part of a cap picture. (Just not when it is 60% of a team’s allotment). The 2025 49ers, 2024 Broncos, 2025 Seahawks and 2025 Eagles all won 10+ games in the same season that they posted the large dead cap number.
That’s a big ask for the 2026 Miami Dolphins, though. Their dead cap charge is bigger than the 2022 Bears and 2025 Eagles’ dead cap charges combined. But hey…you never know!
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