What Is Dead Cap? Dead Money in the NFL Explained
Dead cap — also called dead money — is salary cap space charged to a team for a player who is no longer on its roster. It comes almost entirely from prorated signing bonus that has not yet been accounted for. When a player is released, traded or retires before his contract ends, that unamortized bonus accelerates onto the current year’s cap, and the team pays for production it will not receive.
Dead money is the scar tissue of roster building. Every team carries some; the question is whether it is the residue of a deliberate reset or the compounding interest on years of deferral. Reading a team’s dead cap number tells you what it has been doing for the last three offseasons. This guide is part of our NFL Guides & Explainers hub, which breaks down the rules behind every roster move.
Where dead cap comes from
Only money the player has already been paid, or is guaranteed to be paid, can become dead. Base salary in a future year that was never guaranteed simply disappears when he is released.
- Unamortized signing bonus. The largest source by far. Remaining proration accelerates to the current year.
- Guaranteed base salary. If the salary was guaranteed and the player is released, the team still owes it and still charges it.
- Option and restructure bonuses. These prorate exactly like signing bonuses and accelerate the same way.
- Void years. When a contract voids, every remaining prorated dollar hits at once — for a player who may still be on the roster under a new deal.
- Injury settlements. Money paid to settle an injury grievance counts against the cap.
A worked example
Suppose a player signs a four-year deal with a $24 million signing bonus. That is $6 million of proration per year. After two seasons, the team releases him.
| Year | Status | Bonus proration | Cap charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | On roster | $6M | $6M + base salary |
| 2 | On roster | $6M | $6M + base salary |
| 3 | Released | $12M accelerated | $12M dead money, no player |
| 4 | — | — | $0 |
The team saves the year-three and year-four base salaries but eats $12 million of dead money in year three. If it designates him a post-June-1 release, the charge becomes $6 million in year three and $6 million in year four — but the relief does not arrive until June, well after free agency.
When dead cap is a good decision
Dead money is not automatically a mistake. It is the price of correcting one, and correcting it early is usually cheaper than carrying it.
Taking a large dead-money charge in a season a team does not expect to contend is a rational, even disciplined move: it clears the books for the years that matter. The same charge taken by a team one player short of a playoff run is a self-inflicted wound. Context is everything, which is why comparing raw dead-cap totals across teams tells you very little on its own.
How to read a dead cap number
- Is it concentrated or diffuse? One large charge from a single trade is a strategy. Twenty small charges are a pattern of misses.
- Is it front-loaded into a non-competitive year? Deliberate.
- Is it rising while the roster is aging? The warning sign.
- How much comes from void years? Void-year dead money is borrowed space coming due, not a personnel error.
The Jets and dead money
The Jets absorbed significant dead money in the 2025-26 roster teardown, trading veterans on expensive second contracts and keeping the accelerated proration. That is dead cap of the deliberate kind — the cost of converting a roster that had stopped winning into draft capital and future flexibility.
Our breakdown of those moves, and what the team got back for them, is in Inside the Jets’ 2025-26 Roster Teardown.
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Related guides
- Signing Bonuses Explained
- What Is the NFL Salary Cap?
- How NFL Contracts Work
- Guaranteed Money Explained
- How NFL Waivers Work
Frequently asked questions
What is dead cap in the NFL?
Dead cap, or dead money, is salary cap space charged to a team for a player who is no longer on the roster. It comes mainly from signing bonus proration that had not yet been accounted for when the player was released, traded or retired.
Why do teams take on dead money?
Because releasing or trading a player is sometimes worth the charge. Moving on early from a declining veteran, or converting a expensive contract into draft capital, costs dead money now and buys flexibility later. Taken in a non-competitive season, it is a deliberate reset rather than a mistake.
What is a post-June-1 release?
A team may designate up to two releases per year as post-June-1, which splits the accelerated bonus proration across two league years instead of charging it all at once. The drawback is that the cap relief does not arrive until June, after free agency has passed.
Does dead cap ever go away on its own?
Yes. Dead money is a finite charge tied to specific unamortized bonus dollars. Once those dollars have been fully accounted for, the charge disappears, which is why a team’s dead cap can fall sharply from one year to the next.