The Miami Dolphins should be in position to shatter an NFL record in 2026 — though it’s not necessarily one anyone wants to hold

Should the Dolphins clear their cap books in 2026, they'll be in a position to threaten the all-time mark for dead cap in a single season. And, hear me out, that might not be a bad thing. With the rate that the NFL's salary cap is growing, teams are more willing than ever to flush financed cap commitments out of their system en masse — choosing to use the salary cap's annual growth as a buffer to retain much of the nucleus of their roster in the first place while moving out of big contracts.

The San Francisco 49ers this year hold the current record for dead cap in a single season, sporting a whopping $101,047,358 in dead money in 2025.

In order to break the NFL's current mark, Miami is going to need to make some wholesale changes this offseason. As things currently stand, Miami is on the books for $34.14 million in dead cap in 2026 already. That's from names like Jalen Ramsey, Jonnu Smith, Terron Armstead, Cam Smith, and others. If that mark feels high, it is. It's currently the sixth-highest commitment in dead money for 2026 already. And the Dolphins appear to be in line for more.

Who else lingers as potential big dead cap charges if the Dolphins move on from them this offseason? Here's are some numbers to know.

Current 2026 NFL dead cap leaders per Spotrac

1. New Orleans Saints - $87,063,743
2. Philadelphia Eagles - $44,804,173
3. New York Jets - $43,643,619
4. Jacksonville Jaguars - $42,000,184
5. Cleveland Browns - $36,821,145
6. Miami Dolphins - $34,140,635

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill

It's already been reported that Hill is expected by league insiders to be released this offseason. Given the nature of his season-ending in 2025, Hill seems like a poor bet for Miami to place on the upcoming 2026 guarantees left in his contract. As his contract is currently scheduled, Hill is on the books for a $51,898,750 salary cap charge. If he's released before June 1st with a standard release designation, the Dolphins could save $23,650,000 in 2026 cap space. That's the good news. But those savings come at the expense of $28,248,750 in dead cap.

Current 2026 dead money charges: $34,140,635
Potential 2026 Tyreek Hill dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $28,248,750 ($62,389,385 total)

EDGE defender Bradley Chubb

Chubb is the only player on this list that's tied to the trade deadline rumors that are currently swirling around this team. Should he get traded in-season this year, the cap savings in 2026 would be equivalent to if he were simply released this winter in the offseason. There's be some extra cash (and technically cap) savings in play because he has performance incentives for playing time and sack production this season — so projecting the actual savings and dead money requires some willful ignorance. For now, we'll pretend he doesn't hit any of those incentives.

Moving on from Bradley Chubb (either by the trade deadline or in the offseason before March) would save Miami just $7,343,500 in cap space but $20,230,000 in cash for 2026. That would come with a dead cap charge of $23,859,242 if he were hypothetically cut — a notably high number because they reworked his contract in 2023 and 2024 for more cap space.

Current 2026 dead money charges: $34,140,635
Potential 2026 Tyreek Hill dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $28,248,750
Potential 2026 Bradley Chubb dead money charge(Traded in 2025 or Pre-June 1 cut): $23,859,242 ($86,248,627 total)

Offensive tackle Austin Jackson

It's a shame. I like Austin Jackson. I actually like most of the players on this list. But Jackson has missed far too much time in his Miami career, which was a fear when Miami gave him a contract extension in 2023. The 2024 season was perhaps the best stretch of Jackson's career — and then he missed the second-half of 2024 due to a knee injury. And now with Jackson on injured reserve yet again with (at least) six missed games, it's hard to justify the salary and the block it keeps in securing a more reliable starter.

Moving on from Jackson as a standard cut would save Miami $11.5 million in cash off their payroll, but only $2,009,772 in cap space since they've restructured his contract for cap savings in each of the last two seasons. As such, we're looking at a $13,764,341 dead cap charge if Jackson were to be hypothetically released outright before March.

Current 2026 dead money charges: $34,140,635
Potential 2026 Tyreek Hill dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $28,248,750
Potential 2026 Bradley Chubb dead money charge(Traded in 2025 or Pre-June 1 cut): $23,859,242
Potential 2026 Austin Jackson dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $13,764,341 ($100,012,968 total)

Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick

I think Minkah Fitzpatrick has played quite well this season, regardless of what the officiating crew in Cleveland would have you believe. Fitzpatrick hasn't been perfect and he hasn't been the ballhawk he was in his prime — but he's a sharp player with good instincts and he's shown more playmaking ability than anyone else in the secondary.

But he has no guaranteed salary in 2026 and could want to play in a more competitive environment as he rolls into the later chapters of his NFL career. I would not make this move as of now, personally. But such a move would save Miami $5,853,000 in cap space and $15,600,000 in cash off their payroll. It's worth acknowledging, even with what equates to a potential $12,996,000 dead cap charge.

Current 2026 dead money charges: $34,140,635
Potential 2026 Tyreek Hill dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $28,248,750
Potential 2026 Bradley Chubb dead money charge(Traded in 2025 or Pre-June 1 cut): $23,859,242
Potential 2026 Austin Jackson dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $13,764,341
Potential 2026 Minkah Fitzpatrick dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut) $12,996,000 ($113,008,968 total)

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa

Woo, buddy. This is a hypothetical decision I explored earlier this week after Miami's latest offensive struggle in Cleveland. With it feeling more and more possible that Miami could spur on a full reset of the football operation, it's hard to completely dismiss the idea that a new general manager and head coach wouldn't want to simply hit "reset" on this situation.

If that's the case, they'd need to designate hypothetical Tagovailoa transaction as a Post-June 1st move — otherwise they'd be looking at $99.2 million for this move alone. That, for the record, would shatter the NFL record for a single player's dead money. That's not likely viable for Miami amid their need to field a roster in 2026 and offload other contracts, so splitting the bookkeeping here between two seasons would be the play.

There's no cash or cap savings with this move — only $1 million in cap savings after June 1st. This would be an organizational alignment & chemistry move if they did it.

Current 2026 dead money charges: $34,140,635
Potential 2026 Tyreek Hill dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $28,248,750
Potential 2026 Bradley Chubb dead money charge(Traded in 2025 or Pre-June 1 cut): $23,859,242
Potential 2026 Austin Jackson dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut): $13,764,341
Potential 2026 Minkah Fitzpatrick dead money charge (Pre-June 1 cut) $12,996,000
Potential 2026 Tua Tagovailoa dead money charge (Post-June 1 cut, assuming option bonus is exercised before release): $55,400,000 ($168,408,968)

Not everything here should or (probably) will happen, predictively

You still with me?

This is before you get to names like Alec Ingold, Jason Sanders, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and others. Those hypothetical dead cap charges are pennies on the dollar relative to the hits of Chubb, Hill, or potentially Tagovailoa in the most dramatic of outcomes. It also doesn't count the voided contracts of Zach Wilson and Matthew Judon — those two with bring an additional $5.16 million in dead cap for 2026 unless one or both players re-sign with the team. Now would probably be a bad time to mention that Wilson was just demoted to the third string quarterback and Judon was a healthy scratch on Sunday against the Browns.

I don't imagine a world in which all of these players are gone in 2026. The cash owed to Tagovailoa certainly puts him in an overwhelming leverage position to return to the team. But if the Dolphins embrace a new football operation with a new general manager and a new head coach and the situation becomes a sticking point, it would not be unprecedented. Denver paid Russell Wilson $39 million the year they cut him in 2024.

But even amid the unknown, Miami's current 2026 dead cap commitments ($34,140,635), transactions away from Bradley Chubb and Tyreek Hill, plus the voided contracts of Wilson and Judon feel like damn near locks. That's $91.3 million in dead cap charges to start.

It puts the NFL's all-time single season dead cap record well within reach. And, potentially, in position to be blown out of the water depending on how sweeping the changes eventually end up reaching. But if you're looking for a silver lining amid this doomsday scenario for the roster and the cap, just know that these moves would clear out nearly $40 million in cap space for 2026 as well — before opening up nearly an additional $75 million in cap space for 2027.

We may be playing the long game here.

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