Ranking 2026 NFL payrolls: Which teams spend the most money on their rosters?

There are several ways to assess spending in the NFL. The salary cap is the easiest one, since it's the one every team must follow. In 2026, the base salary cap is $301.2 million. Every team's salary cap hits must add up to or be below that number. There's a wide range here. The Chiefs are only about $1.5 million away from hitting the cap ceiling, while the 49ers still have $65 million in cap space, even with the offseason over.

Another way to assess spending is in cash spending. That is the amount of money a team is actually paying its players. More than half of the NFL teams are over the $301.2 million mark here. How? Well, there are certain measures teams can take to circumvent the salary cap.

One such example is spreading out bonuses in contracts over several years. There are lots of good explanations, but here's the basic premise: Let's say Player X signs a five-year deal that includes a $30 million signing bonus. While the team pays that player $30 million immediately upon signing, the team can split that $30 million over the five years of the deal for salary cap purposes. So, the signing bonus counts only toward the cap for $6 million each season.

Active cash spending is the best way to see which teams are willing to spend what, and that range is wide, too. Some teams (read: owners) are willing to be extremely aggressive and spend big money into the future. Others aren't.

As such, when looking at the most expensive teams in 2026, we'll use active cash spending and dive into who is behind those numbers.

(Team figures via OverTheCap; individuals via Spotrac)

1. Dallas Cowboys: $372.8 million

Top earners:

• QB Dak Prescott: $40.0M
• DL Quinnen Williams: $34.1M
• WR George Pickens: $27.2M
• WR CeeDee Lamb: $25.5M

Jerry Jones can be frustrating with his negotiation tactics, but generally, it mostly comes back to only bite him when he has to pay up for his star-studded roster. This offseason, he was actually proactive, even if it still cost him a lot. Williams got a massive extension with a signing bonus of nearly $32 million. So did Tyler Smith ($16.4M signing bonus), who is now the highest-paid guard in the NFL, and Brandon Aubrey, now the league's highest-paid kicker. Pickens being on the franchise tag made him quite costly as well. Throw in end-of-contract guys, such as Kenny Clark and Rashan Gary, and the Cowboys are doling out a lot of big checks.

2. Seattle Seahawks: $369.7 million

Top earners:

• LT Charles Cross: $43M
• WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba: $36.5M
• CB Devon Witherspoon: $31.0M
• QB Sam Darnold: $27.5M

Having young, cheap talent is a great way to win a Super Bowl, as the Seahawks showed just a few months ago. The only issue is that young talent eventually becomes expensive (though Seattle will happily trade big money for a Lombardi Trophy). The Seahawks are going through that this year. 

Cross, who signed his extension late last season, has by far the highest cash flow of any offensive lineman this year. Smith-Njigba is making the second-most of any wide receiver this season, and Witherspoon is making the most of any cornerback. Both Smith-Njigba and Witherspoon were 2023 draft picks who became stars and were paid this offseason. Again, though, the reigning champs are happy to pay up for results.

3. Baltimore Ravens: $362.9 million

Top earners:

• QB Lamar Jackson: $52.0M
  
• EDGE Trey Hendrickson: $31.0M
  
• WR Zay Flowers: $26.0M
• DL Nnamdi Madubuike: $22.0M

Jackson comes in fourth among quarterbacks in terms of 2026 cash total, only behind Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Jared Goff. The Ravens also spent big both externally (Hendrickson) and internally (Flowers) to finish third on this list. Madubuike, who missed almost all of last year, could be a crucial part of Baltimore finally getting over the hump.

4. Houston Texans: $359.1 million

Top earners:

• EDGE Will Anderson Jr.: $33.1M
• EDGE Danielle Hunter: $32.5M
• WR Nico Collins: $30.0M
• CB Derek Stingley Jr.: $22.0M

Remember what we said about 2023 draft stars in the Seahawks' section? Anderson became the highest-paid EDGE defender in the NFL this season, leading him to the fifth-highest EDGE cash flow this year, even though the extension technically hasn't even kicked in yet. Hunter signed yet another extension and is right behind Anderson in EDGE cash flow. Stingley, meanwhile, is sixth among cornerbacks, and Collins is tied for seventh among wide receivers after his renegotiation earlier this year.

5. Philadelphia Eagles: $357.6 million

Top earners:

• QB Jalen Hurts: $51.5M
• DL Jalen Carter: $26.9M
• EDGE Jonathan Greenard: $25.2M
• RT Lane Johnson: $23M

The Eagles are notoriously aggressive spenders, willing to push gigantic money into the future to keep salary figures low. They're at it again this year. Hurts, taking home $51.5 million this year, ranks fifth among quarterbacks. His $31.9-million cap hit, though, is only 13th. Carter got a record-setting extension this offseason, and Greenard got a big deal. Jeffrey Lurie's open checkbook and Howie Roseman's aggressive nature work hand in hand.

Here are the teams ranking 6-32 in terms of 2026 active cash spending:

The Dolphins are a good example of what can happen when betting big goes wrong. Miami ranks last in active cash spending, but it had very little cap room this offseason because it has so much money tied up in Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Jalen Ramsey and others. In fact, of the Dolphins' top eight biggest salary cap hits this season, only one player, Zach Sieler, is actually on the team.