Chicago Bears lead the NFL with least wasted ‘dead cap’ money

Chicago Bears pay least amount of money for players on other teams across NFL

The San Francisco 49ers (-$96.6M), New Orleans Saints (-$90M), and Philadelphia Eagles (-$80M) have a bit more red on theirs than other teams.

Spotrac tracks the money situation of all teams, and released a list of dead cap leaders on Wednesday — which is essentially the list of teams who are paying the most money for players not currently on their roster.

It’s not exactly a measurement of current success, as you can see by two of the three teams we previously mentioned — but that sunken cost often has implications on the way teams operate in the future.

Uncle Sam — or in this instance, Roger Goodell — always comes around.

The Chicago Bears are in an incredible position for that very reason, as they’re paying the least amount for players not currently on their roster — all while building a team full of talent that is expected to compete as soon as 2025.

Bears general manager Ryan Poles has done a tremendous job in that respect, but there are some negative aspects that go into it.

Bears saving money because of consistent whiffs in NFL Draft

The Bears have done a tremendous job at bringing in veteran talent over the last several seasons, acquiring the likes of wide receiver DJ Moore, offensive lineman Joe Thuney, defensive lineman Montez Sweat, and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.

Keenan Allen is the only real whiff, but he isn’t costing anything.

Chicago hasn’t exactly crushed the draft, however.

It’s too early to tell on guys like quarterback Caleb Williams, wide receiver Rome Odunze, and tight end Colston Loveland — their first-round picks in 2024 and 2025. It’s safe to say the organization is still reeling from 2021 and 2023, however, as neither has any foundational pieces and struggled to provide much depth at all.

The Bears cut a ton of those guys, but it doesn’t count toward the dead cap at all.

Poles, like we said, has done a tremendous job in many respects — he’s just been helped out by a couple of technicalities.