NFC sleeper team tops all others in NFL for cap space

The start of June has served as a key NFL financial period for decades. While teams no longer have to wait until after June 1 to make that cost-splitting cut designation, teams pick up the savings from those transactions today. With a handful of teams making post-June 1 cuts this year, here is how each team’s cap space (courtesy of OverTheCap) looks as of Friday:

1. Chicago Bears: $32.58M
2. Carolina Panthers: $27.25M
3. Arizona Cardinals: $26.68M
4. New York Jets: $24.79M
5. Detroit Lions: $23.72M
6. Indianapolis Colts: $23.39M
7. Dallas Cowboys: $20.48M
8. Houston Texans: $16.81M
9. Green Bay Packers: $16.57M
10. Pittsburgh Steelers: $15.73M
11. Cincinnati Bengals: $14.92M
12. New Orleans Saints: $14.27M
13. New England Patriots: $14.12M
14. Miami Dolphins: $13.9M
15. Cleveland Browns: $13.86M
16. Philadelphia Eagles: $13.85M
17. Los Angeles Chargers: $12.61M
18. Jacksonville Jaguars: $12M
19. Washington Commanders: $11.57M
20. Baltimore Ravens: $11.54M
21. San Francisco 49ers: $10.72M
22. Atlanta Falcons: $10.7M
23. Denver Broncos: $10.13M
24. Minnesota Vikings: $9.75M
25. Tennessee Titans: $7.99M
26. Seattle Seahawks: $7.94M
27. New York Giants: $3.82M
28. Las Vegas Raiders: $3.37M
29. Los Angeles Rams: $1.49M
30. Buffalo Bills: $1.4M
31. Kansas City Chiefs: $653K
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $402K

The Dolphins gained the most from a post-June 1 cut (Byron Jones) this year, creating $13.6M in cap space from a deal that will spread out the cornerback’s dead money through 2024. But the Browns (John Johnson, Jadeveon Clowney) and Cowboys (Ezekiel Elliott) created more than $10M in space as well.

The Jets’ number is a bit deceiving. They are still working on a restructure with Aaron Rodgers, as the trade acquisition’s cap number — after a Packers restructure — sits at just $1.22M. In 2024, that number skyrockets to $107.6M. Rodgers’ cap hit will almost definitely climb before Week 1, so viewing the Jets along with the other teams north of $20M in space is not entirely accurate.

Minnesota is moving closer to separating from its $12.6M-per-year Dalvin Cook contract. The team has already created some space by trading Za’Darius Smith to the Browns. Cleveland, which is one of the teams connected to DeAndre Hopkins, added Smith and did so with help from its Deshaun Watson restructure. Watson was set to count $54.9M against the Browns’ 2023 cap. That number is down to $19.1M, though the Browns’ restructure both ballooned Watson’s mid-2020s cap figures to $63.9M — which would shatter the NFL record — and added a 2027 void year.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Rams sit atop the league in dead money, with the Bucs — largely from their April 2022 Tom Brady restructure — checking in at $75.3M, here. That total comprises nearly 33 percent of the Bucs’ 2023 cap sheet. The Rams, at more than $74M, are not far behind. Despite the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs — the teams most frequently tied to Hopkins — joining the Bucs and Rams near the bottom of the league in cap space, both AFC contenders also sit in the bottom five in dead money.