A Miami Dolphins Dead Cap Primer and How Much Is Too Much?
The biggest player-related question for the Miami Dolphins heading into the offseason will center around quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and whether the team will be willing to absorb a very large amount of dead cap space to create a fresh start for all involved.
In the end, it could be that the Dolphins will wind up taking up a nice chunk of their salary cap for a player who won’t be on their roster, which sadly is life in the NFL these days.
It happened in 2025 with Xavien Howard, Jalen Ramsey, Terron Armstead and Kendall Fuller, who accounted for about $44 million of Dolphins cap space even though none of them played a down for Miami.
Tua’s dead cap number could end up being more than double that figure if the Dolphins figure to release him without a post-June 1 designation and endure the cap pain all at once instead of spreading it out over two years.
But this is where we need to pause and point out that tons of dead cap money isn’t necessarily a death sentence for a team’s playoff hopes.
THE 2025 PLAYOFF FIELD
Of course, the easiest example is the Denver Broncos, who took on $85 million of dead space the past two years when they released veteran QB Russell Wilson, then proceeded to make the playoffs in 2024 and earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC in 2025.
But it’s not just the Broncos.
Of the top 10 teams with the most dead cap money in 2025, per Spotrac, exactly half of them wound up making the playoffs — the San Francisco 49ers (third in dead cap money), Seattle Seahawks (fourth), Philadelphia Eagles (fifth), Jacksonville Jaguars (sixth) and Houston Texans (10th).
And this isn’t a one-year aberration, either.
In 2024, six of the top 10 teams in dead money made the playoffs, topped by the Broncos at number 1 with a little more than $89 million.
The year before that, it was four of the top 10 in dead money making the playoffs.
All that to say that the Dolphins, yes, are staring at having a pretty high dead cap number, but it can be overcome.
THE DOLPHINS’ DEAD CAP CANDIDATES
Tua obviously stands out as the key player in terms of dead money for the Dolphins in 2025, but he’s far from the only one.
Two other veteran who immediately jump out are wide receiver Tyreek Hill and linebacker Bradley Chubb.
Both of those players are out of guarantees on their contract and carry pretty high cap numbers for 2026, $51.1 million for Hill and $31.2 million for Chubb.
The Dolphins can save $22.9 million of cap space by releasing Hill and $7.3 million by releasing Chubb, though those numbers would increase and the amount of dead money decrease if the Dolphins use their post-June 1 designation on either or both.
As a quick reminder, teams can use up to two designations each year.
Three other players who could become cap casualty during the offseason are tackle Austin Jackson, fullback Alec Ingold and kicker Jason Sanders.
None of them have guaranteed money moving forward and there are health concerns with Jackson, the new head coach might not be someone who uses a fullback enough to justify keeping Ingold, and the Dolphins might decide they can just re-sign Riley Patterson for less than what Sanders is owed.
The dead cap money would be pretty insignificant for Ingold and Sanders, but it would be $4.3 million for Jackson as a post-June 1 cut, whichis the only way it would make sense to move on from him.
The Dolphins already are on the books for more than $35 million of dead cap money for six players — Ramsey, Armstead, Jonnu Smith, Matt Judon, Cam Smith and Mohamed Kamara because of proration of signing bonuses.
THE DOLPHINS’ RANKINGS IN DEAD MONEY
That $35.5 million figure ranks sixth in the NFL, but far behind the “leading” New Orleans Saints already at $90.6 million in dead cap money.
The Dolphins wound up ninth in the NFL in 2025, following rankings of 15th in 2024, 27th in 2023, 27th in 2022 and 18th in 2021.
It is noteworthy that the two years where the Dolphins were near the bottom in dead cap money are the two years they made the playoffs.
It’s also worth noting that the last time the Dolphins engaged in a full rebuilding season, the 2019 “Tank for Tua” campaign, they led the NFL in dead cap money.
