The NFL salary cap and a team’s salary cap space are much-debated areas because, like many things in life, they are not an issue until they are. For the most part, teams are excellent at navigating the salary cap, which can make it seem irrelevant at times. However, we have seen teams struggle to remain competitive when the salary cap prevents them from being able to retain players or sign marquee free agents.
All salary cap data for the 32 teams in the table above is courtesy of Over the Cap. If you want to simulate how your favorite team should handle its cap space, head over to PFSN’s NFL Offseason Manager.
Which Teams Have the Most Salary Cap Space?
As things stand, the New England Patriots stand atop the list with the most salary cap space at just over $51 million. They didn't make any major moves at the trade deadline, preferring to stick with the current roster (which has them as arguably the top team in the AFC) and saving their space for a pivotal 2026 offseason.
Only one other team has over $25 million in cap space: the Washington Commanders ($25.2 million).
Just behind them are four teams with over $20 million in cap space: the Cleveland Browns ($23.4 million), the Dallas Cowboys ($21.7 million), the Tennessee Titans ($20.2 million), and the San Francisco 49ers ($20.1 million).
The information in this section is correct as of December 3, 2025
Which Teams Have the Least Salary Cap Space?
All 32 NFL teams have to be cap-compliant, with all the players on the roster counting against the salary cap. There are six teams with under $3 million in cap space: the Kansas City Chiefs ($2.8 million), the Atlanta Falcons ($2.7 million), the Denver Broncos ($2.7 million), the Indianapolis Colts ($2.6 million), the Los Angeles Chargers ($2.1 million), and the Buffalo Bills ($1.8 million).
The information in this section is correct as of December 3, 2025
FAQ
What Is the NFL Salary Cap?
The NFL salary cap system is complicated in many ways, but its basic premise is simple. Each team has a budget for each season, and they cannot go over that budget. If they do, the contract that sent them over is canceled, and they are penalized in some way. Punishments would usually be a monetary fine or a loss of draft picks on top of canceling the contract.
In some aspects, it is not very different than when you were a child with an allowance. Exceed that allowance, and your parents likely told you to put one thing back. The main difference is that they probably didn’t also punish you by taking away something else.
The NFL salary cap is set based on revenue sharing between the NFL and the NFL Players Association and changes each year. The league sets a base value for the cap each season, and teams can roll over money from previous seasons to boost that value.
How Does the NFL Salary Cap Work?
In 2025, the league set the base salary cap for all teams at $279.2 million. Each team then adds on any rolled-over money from the previous season. In essence, this is money that they did not spend against the previous cap. Some further adjustments based on contractual elements are then made to achieve a final number for each team.
The salary cap for players consists of salaries and bonuses. Only the top 51 players count toward the cap during the offseason, but when the season starts, all 53 players on the active roster count toward it. Additionally, any player placed on the injured reserve or the practice squad counts against a team's salary cap.
Signing and option bonuses are paid in a lump sum, but their impact on the salary cap can be spread up to four years. For example, a player receiving a $25 million signing bonus gets all that money immediately, but only $5 million a year would count toward the cap in each year.
Salary is paid weekly, and all of a player’s salary is counted toward a team's cap. Players earn a minimum salary based on the number of seasons they have “accrued” in their career, and, in theory, there is no maximum salary a player can be paid.
Per-game bonuses and incentives also count against the salary cap. How much they count against the cap in a single year is dependent on various factors. Any incentives considered “likely to be earned” count against the cap in that year, and if the player does not reach the threshold, the team pays back the incentives in the form of cap credits as part of cap adjustments.
Any incentives considered “not likely to be earned” do not count against the cap in that year. If the player reaches the threshold, they count against the team's salary cap the following year in the form of cap adjustments.
What Is Active Cap and Dead Money?
Active cap spending is anything a team spends on a player’s current contract. In contrast, dead money is anything a team still owes on a canceled or voided contract.
For example, a player paid a $25 million signing bonus on a five-year deal and earning a $5 million salary in that season would have an active cap number of $10 million in that year. However, if the team were to cut that player after that first year, the $20 million that had not counted against the cap would be considered dead money in Year 2.