Dead money is a salary cap charge for a player who is no longer on a team's roster. It exists because of how salary cap accounting rules operate.
Signing bonuses, option bonuses and certain roster bonuses are prorated or spread out evenly over the life of a contract for a maximum of five years. When a player is released, traded or retires, the remaining proration of these salary components immediately accelerate onto his team's current salary cap.
There are two major exceptions to this general rule of bonus proration accelerating. Only the current year's proration counts toward the cap with players released, traded or retiring after June 1. The bonus proration in future contract years is delayed until the following league year, which typically begins in early to mid-March.
A team can also release two players each league year prior to June 2 (known as a post-June 1 designation) that will be treated under the salary cap as if released after June 1. With a post-June 1 designation, a team is required to carry the player's full cap number until June 2 even though he is no longer part of the roster. The player's salary comes off the books at that time unless it is guaranteed.
This means dead money is typically a sunk cost where money isn't owed to a player. A payment is associated with dead money when there are salary guarantees at the time of release or departure comes after the player has already begun receiving a portion of his compensation in that particular league year.
Teams have become more comfortable with big amounts of dead money. The number of dead money charges in excess of $20 million has increased from three in 2022 to eight this year. Here's a look at the eight players responsible for the 2024 dead money over $20 million.
QB Russell Wilson, Broncos: $53 million
It became apparent pretty quickly that Sean Payton and Russell Wilson were like oil and water after Payton was hired to coach the Broncos last year. The marriage of convenience between the two came to an end in March when the Broncos released Wilson with a post-June 1 designation.
The Broncos are contending with $85 million in dead money because of Wilson's departure. The $53 million for 2024, which includes Wilson's fully guaranteed $39 million 2024 base salary from the five-year, $245 million contract extension he signed in August 2022, is an NFL record of dead money related an individual player in one league year. The other $32 million is a 2025 salary cap charge for the Broncos because of the post-June 1 designation.
QB Daniel Jones, Giants: $47.105 million
The Giants made a bad bet thinking that the best was yet to come for Jones after a 2022 season in which he emerged as a capable dual-threat quarterback. Making the playoffs and winning a wild-card game against the Minnesota Vikings led to Jones getting a four-year, $160 million deal (worth up to $195 million thanks to incentives and salary escalators) with $104 million in guarantees, of which $81 million was fully guaranteed at signing in March 2023. The $40 million-per-year deal put Jones upon signing in a tie with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford as the NFL's seventh-highest-paid player.
A struggling Jones was benched coming out of this season's Week 10 bye to prevent the Giants from being on the hook for his $23 million 2025 base salary injury guarantee if he were hurt and couldn't pass a physical next March. The Giants released Jones at his request a couple of days later and he has since joined the Vikings' practice squad.
Jones' $47.105 million is the second biggest amount of dead money in NFL history. A majority of this dead money comes from Jones' fully guaranteed $35.5 million 2024 base salary.
WR Stefon Diggs, Bills: $31.096 million
A divorce between Diggs and the Bills became inevitable as the 2023 season unfolded. Diggs was increasingly frustrated as the Bills moved to a more run-oriented offensive attack. The Bills dealt Diggs, a 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Texans for a 2025 second-round pick in March despite signing him to a four-year, $96 million contract extension running through the 2027 season in 2022.
The Bills are comfortable with establishing a record for dead money with a non-quarterback in moving on from Diggs. The dead money stems from the $12.9 million of signing bonus proration in Diggs' 2024 through 2026 contract years with the extension and $18.196 million of bonus proration in his 2024 through 2027 contract years relating to a 2023 salary conversion to create 2023 cap room.
QB Kirk Cousins, Vikings: $28.5 million
The $28.5 million is a product of: (1) Cousins' one-year, $35 million extension in 2022, which included a $25 million signing bonus, having voiding 2024 and 2025 contract years for cap purposes and (2) a 2023 contract restructure tacking on voiding 2026 and 2027 contract years to create $16 million of 2023 cap space. All four years voided when the 2023 league year ended on March 13.
Cousins' dead money is Minnesota's largest cap charge for this year. It's more than double Cousins' $12.5 million 2024 cap number in the four-year, $180 million contract, averaging $45 million per year with $100 million of guarantees ($90 million fully guaranteed), he signed with the Atlanta Falcons in March as an unrestricted free agent.
DT Aaron Donald, Rams: $23,833,334
The Rams used some creative salary cap maneuvering to deal with Donald's retirement in March. Donald's contract was restructured where a $5 million fully guaranteed third day of the 2024 league year roster bonus was turned into signing bonus and $8.79 million of his $10 million 2024 base salary was added to an existing $20 million option bonus payment to pick up his voiding 2026 contract year. The $28.79 million option bonus was subsequently renounced so the $9,596,666, $9,596,666 and $9,596,668 of proration in 2024, 2025 and 2026 would come off the Rams' salary cap. Since the renouncing meant the 2026 option year no longer existed, the remaining $9,666,668 of 2026 bonus proration accelerated to 2024.
This maneuvering created $9,123,332 of 2024 cap space for the Rams. Donald was carried on the Rams' roster until the start of training camp in late July to prevent the $9,666,666 in bonus proration relating to his voiding 2025 contract year from becoming a 2024 cap charge. This $9,666,666 is 2025 dead money. The Rams picked an additional $1.21 million of 2024 cap room in July from Donald's 2024 base salary when he was placed on the reserve/retired list.
Edge Haason Reddick, Eagles: $21.515 million
The Eagles chose $21.515 million in dead money over addressing Reddick's dissatisfaction with the three-year, $45 million contract (worth up to $46.5 million through incentives and salary escalators) he signed during 2022 free agency. He was traded to the New York Jets for a conditional 2026 third-round pick in early April. The dead money comes from inserting dummy/voiding 2025 through 2027 contract years into Reddick's deal at the outset for proration purposes with his $13.715 million signing bonus and $15.17 million option bonus.
S Jamal Adams, Seahawks: $20,833,334
The Seahawks released Adams in March because he never measured up to the four-year, $70 million extension (worth up to $72 million through incentives and salary escalators), averaging $17.5 million per year, he signed during the 2021 preseason to dramatically reset the safety market. The deal was structured with a $20 million signing bonus and $12.44 million option bonus. Seattle made matters worse with an uncharacteristic 2023 contract restructure that freed up $6,613,334 of 2023 cap room.
CB J.C. Jackson, Chargers: $20,833,333
The Chargers signed Jackson to a five-year, $82.5 million contract with $40 million of guarantees, which included a $25 million signing bonus, in 2022 free agency to shore up the secondary. Jackson didn't resemble the player who earned Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro honors in 2021 with the New England Patriots before rupturing the patellar tendon in his right knee midway during the 2022 season. When Jackson continued to regress, the Chargers traded him and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Patriots for a 2025 sixth-round pick four weeks into the 2023 season. To facilitate the deal, the Chargers converted $7,777,777 of Jackson's remaining $9,333,333 2023 base salary into signing bonus prior to the trade.
