NFL Contract Drama Could Quietly Hit Chargers This Summer

One big disclaimer to get out of the way: The Chargers still have roughly $45 million in free cap space. 

Hortiz and Co. have almost been alarmingly frugal at times. This year’s current cap won’t get impacted much by a Tuipulotu extension. But it’s a good illustration of how they plan annually, so the cap space to absorb big hits will be there in future years. 

But again, Tuipulotu is tricky. The price is the problem. He’s a former second-round pick who is just 23 years old. He put up 8.5 sacks during a mild breakout in 2024, then fully broke out last year with 13 sacks, two forced fumbles and other big-time stats. 

Tuipulotu might want ot wait on a deal. There's nothing to say he can’t boom past that 13-sack mark and bump his asking price even higher. There’s risk with playing out the final year of his deal, too, but the reward could be immense. 

As The Athletic’s Daniel Popper wrote, the Chargers could look at it from either direction. 

“For the Chargers, if they do the contract this offseason, they would be inking Tuipulotu to an extension at high tide, fresh off his best pro season,” Popper wrote. “They could wait until next offseason. The price goes up if Tuipulotu replicates his 2025 production. The price goes down if he does not.”

It would be very Chargers-like to avoid a contract extension right now on the off chance Tuipulotu doesn’t outperform last year, perhaps saving them a little money. They always have fall-back plans like franchise tags if all else fails, right? 

Tuipulotu might not want to play ball regardless. But there’s some benefit to just shrugging and getting the extension done so that they have a better idea of the year-to-year cap situation. On the edge, they’re locked-in with Akheem Mesidor’s first-round deal and a year-to-year thing with Khalil Mack as notables. 

Regardless, as Popper estimates, the Chargers are looking at around $34 millionish on the high end either way. Anything beyond that would take a really unexpected leap from Tuipulotu on a unit that’s changing coordinators. 

It’s something to watch as a possible sticking point this summer, just keep in mind nothing might happen at all.