Miami Dolphins are in salary cap despair, but smart teams have escaped
The Miami Dolphins appear to be in salary cap hell.
But smart teams have shown it can be escaped.
And I don’t just mean that teams have just waited out a bad wave of massive dead cap hits.
I mean that teams have shown an ability to compete, and win, despite scary credit card deficits.
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Of the 10 teams with the largest dead cap hits of 2025, five made the playoffs.
The Saints and Jets led the way in dead cap space, with $109 million and $108 million.
And yes, they stunk.
As a reminder, dead cap space is money you cannot use against your annual cap because of prorated bonus money left over from players who have already been cut, traded or retired.
Now here’s the amazing thing:
The 49ers (3rd), Seahawks (4th), Eagles (5th), Jaguars (6th) and Texans (10th) all overcame their very high ranking in 2025 dead cap space to post successful seasons.
The 49ers had $103.6 million in dead cap space this season (and a ton of injuries) and still found a way to go 12-5 in the regular season.
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We bring this all up because 2026 is going to be a devastating salary cap situation for general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and team executive and salary cap guru Brandon Shore.
We’ve heard that Shore wasn’t exactly gung-ho about at least some of the big raises and extensions executed by fired general manager Chris Grier.
(After all, Ross fired Grier but kept Shore.)
So JES and Shore will work together to clean this up.
Tua Tagovailoa will be massive dead cap hit
Look at these dead cap hits the Dolphins are looking at for 2026:
Tua Tagovailoa $67.4 million (probable cut)
Jalen Ramsey $20.7 million (traded)
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Tyreek Hill $15.9 million (probable cut)
Bradley Chubb $10.9 million (probable cut or restructure)
Terron Armstead $10.7 million (retired)
Tagovailoa’s total dead cap hit of $99.2 million (unless Miami can through some miracle trade him) will likely be spread over 2026 and 2027, though they could theoretically take the whole things in 2026.
It’s a crucial blow. But consider the Broncos led the entire NFL in 2024 with a dead cap hit total of $89 million after cutting Russell Wilson. And they recovered quickly. So quickly.
Wilson was a $53 million dead cap hit in 2024 and a total dead cap hit of $85 million. But Denver still went 11-6. And then 14-3 this season.
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Spotrac projects the Dolphins at $18 million over the cap for 2026, near the bottom of the league, but that’s even before they make moves on some of the players listed above. When a player is cut, there are is often both dead cap space left (bad news) and also salary cap space cleared (some good news).
But no matter how you massage the numbers, they don’t look good for Miami.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 21: Tua Tagovailoa #1 of the Miami Dolphins waves to fans after his team’s 45-21 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium on December 21, 2025 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
The Dolphins made their run at a title and didn’t even win a playoff game.
And so now Sullivan (with whiz Shore) must reset. That means a lot of drafted and undrafted rookies in 2026. That means a lot of minimum-contract young veterans in 2026.
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Four of the eight teams to advance to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs had highly-paid veteran quarterbacks and four had quarterbacks on rookie deals.
Any team with a quality quarterback on a rookie contract has the ability to spend more at tackle, receiver, edge, cornerback, etc. That’s a big edge, if you don’t have an elite, superstar signal-calling veteran.
Even though the 49ers rewarded Brock Purdy with a big future extension, his cap hit is still only $9.1 million this season. You can see how that helps a team.
San Francisco will adjust their strategy in 2028, when that Purdy cap hit jumps to $57.6 million.
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The Dolphins can try to emulate sharp 49ers
The Dolphins swung and missed on Tua, who had many successful games, but led the team to no successful playoff wins. And he appears to breaking down physically and/or mentally.
That contract was a mistake. But with a series of very smart moves, the new Dolphins general manager can recover.
Quinn Ewers and Cam Miller are two quarterbacks who figure to be on the Dolphins’ roster in 2026. And they’re on club-friendly rookie deals, which helps.
The 49ers had success this year despite enornmous dead cap hits for Deebo Samuel (traded), Arik Armstead (released), Charvarius Ward (void year), Leonard Floyd (released) and Javon Hargrave (released).
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They didn’t tank. They re-loaded with quality draft picks and smart, reasonably-priced free-agent signings.
The Dolphins may look to add draft capital. They may look to restructure or extend contracts in ways that actually lower cap figures in the near future.
It’s not easy, but it’s doable. It’s been done.
And it’s at the top of the list of tasks for new Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan.
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Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and on X @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe’s free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins salary cap is a mess, but 49ers, Broncos show path out