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NFL salary cap space rankings: Which teams can be top 2026 spenders?

Having a boatload of salary cap space can spark a rapid turnaround; just ask the 2025 New England Patriots. It's also no guarantee of success; just ask the 2025 New York Giants.

The Patriots came into 2025 with the league's most spending room and turned it into more than $350 million worth of contracts and a quick turnaround behind MVP candidate quarterback Drake Maye. The Giants gave out more than $200 million to free agent arrivals and promptly went 4-13 thanks to shaky coaching, poor fits and awful injury luck.

Just having cap space isn't enough; a team needs a plan and several backups once bidding frenzies begin at the start of 2026's NFL free agent legal tampering period on March 9. While we don't know what each team's path will be, we do have a good idea of how far they can travel alongside this spring's top available players. Let's take a look at each team's estimated spending limit this offseason, starting with the Tennessee Titans at the top.

Numbers are via the amazingly helpful Over the Cap and are current as of February 12.

1. Tennessee Titans: $104,769,062

2. Las Vegas Raiders: $91,522,807

3. Los Angeles Chargers: $83,542,941

4. New York Jets: $83,263,050

5. Washington Commanders: $76,041,469

6. Seattle Seahawks: $72,284,461

7. Cincinnati Bengals: $54,504,672

8. Los Angeles Rams: $48,214,355

9. Pittsburgh Steelers: $44,943,582

10. San Francisco 49ers: $42,950,176

11. New England Patriots: $42,735,263

12. Arizona Cardinals: $42,187,426

13. Indianapolis Colts: $35,598,489

14. Denver Broncos: $28,885,734

15. Atlanta Falcons: $26,462,519

16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $23,828,710

17. Baltimore Ravens: $22,043,387

Jan 4, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson (8) runs the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

18. Philadelphia Eagles: $20,557,388

19. Carolina Panthers: $14,437,004

20. New York Giants: $6,947,721

21. Cleveland Browns: $3,210,721

22. Green Bay Packers: -$1,436,657

23. Houston Texans: -$1,498,295

24. Chicago Bears: -$5,300,354

25. New Orleans Saints: -$6,037,060

26. Buffalo Bills: -$7,449,001

27. Detroit Lions: -$8,531,146

28. Jacksonville Jaguars: -$11,433,472

29. Miami Dolphins: -$16,413,613

30. Dallas Cowboys: -$29,168,257

31. Minnesota Vikings: -$40,156,353

32. Kansas City Chiefs: -$54,910,166

These numbers will change as veterans are released and contracts are restructured before the NFL's free agent tampering period begins.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: NFL salary cap space rankings: Which teams can be top 2026 spenders?

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