SUMMARY
- Russell Wilson's impending release by the Denver Broncos will incur an NFL-record dead cap.
- High dead cap hits can significantly impact a team's financial flexibility and ability to build a competitive roster.
As we march towards the free agency time of the year, fans are interested to know how the teams are going to pursue the start of the new league and clean their salary caps. Releasing the veterans of the franchise might lead them to encounter an eerie term called salary cap. This will affect the team building and roster formation for the 2024 season.
Let’s take a look at what a dead cap is. Dead money is referred to as the salary cap space proffered to a player who can no longer be a part of the team roster. A dead cap is a specific cap related to a player who has been traded, released, or retired from the team. When a team signs a player, the team offers him a signing bonus.
The signing bonus can be given to the player over the duration of his contract. Usually, the signing amount is prorated over five years or the life of the contract- whichever is shorter. Hence if a player is terminated before the expiry of his contract, the team becomes liable to pay the player the promised signing bonus. This amount is termed a dead cap.
The biggest dead cap hits in the history of the NFL
As Russell Wilson will be released in 2024, the Denver Broncos will have to absorb a dead cap of $85 million. The club can spread the dead cap over two years where the player will be paid $35.4 million in 2024 and $49.6 million in 2025 as they would process the retirement after June 1, 2024. This dead cap that the Broncos will encounter is going to be the largest in the history of the NFL.
It will eclipse the dead cap that the Falcons absorbed when they traded Matt Ryan in 2022. The Falcons had to undergo a hefty absorption of $40.5 million which by far stood to be the highest. The third on the list comes to be the dead cap of Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay Packers had to pay the player $40.3 million. He switched to the New York Jets after leaving the Packers.
Broncos will take on an NFL-record $85M in dead cap by releasing Russell Wilson 😳 pic.twitter.com/92wigoIsjn
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 4, 2024
The next on the list of the highest-accounted dead cap is Carson Wentz. The Philadelphia Eagles had paid him $33.8 million when he left the team. This year, the Eagles also have to absorb the dead cap of their highest-earning center, Jason Kelce, as he decides to opt for retirement. As per reports, Jason Kelce would receive $20.5 million as he pulled the plug on his NFL career.