NFL Free Agency 2025: Teams with Most Salary Cap Space Ahead of Sunday's Signings

Fans who didn't follow along with Saturday's free-agent activity may have missed more speculation than actual action. That's typically how things unfold during the second wave of free agency—where players often choose between teams and make real, in-person visits before signing.

The furious flood of agreements we saw during the legal-contact window is now a thing of the past. There will be some activity over the weekend, naturally, but plenty of headline-grabbing deals have yet to transpire.

Which teams are best positioned to make a splash in the second wave of free agency? Let's examine where each team stands, financially, and what could come next as NFL free agency continues.

Updated 2025 Salary Cap Picture Entering Sunday

John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Falcons GM Terry Fontenot

New England Patriots $79.9 million

Los Angeles Chargers $57.6 million

Seattle Seahawks $57.5 million

Tennessee Titans $52.6 million

Arizona Cardinals $52.3 million

Detroit Lions $49.9 million

Las Vegas Raiders $39.3 million

Pittsburgh Steelers $38.5 million

Jacksonville Jaguars $34 million

San Francisco 49ers $30.6 million

Washington Commanders $29.3 million

Dallas Cowboys $26.4 million

New York Giants $25.9 million

Chicago bears $22.4 million

Minnesota Vikings $21.4 million

Kansas City Chiefs $21.2 million

New York Jets $18.8 million

Green Bay Packers $16.8 million

Carolina Panthers $15.5 million

Philadelphia Eagles $14.7 million

Cincinnati Bengals $13.8 million

Indianapolis Colts $10.6 million

Miami Dolphins $10.5 million

Baltimore Ravens $9.7 million

Denver Broncos $9.7 million

New Orleans Saints $8.1 million

Buffalo Bills $5.7 million

Cleveland Browns $5.6 million

Los Angeles Rams -$497,319

Houston Texans $1.4 million

Atlanta Falcons $-7.4 million

Tampa Bay Buccaneers -$21.3 million

Salary Cap and Free Agency Overview

Cooper Neill/Getty Images

WR JuJu Smith-Schuster

Now's probably a good time to delve into the NFL's top-51 rule and how it pertains to the offseason salary cap.

During the offseason, only a franchise's 51 most expensive contracts—based on this year's cap hits—count against the cap. This rule will remain in effect until rosters are trimmed from 90 to 53 players following the preseason.

The numbers we've examined here involve all contracts, since that accurately reflects where teams stand in terms of total spending. However, some teams have more room with which to work than the numbers might suggest.

For teams that have a surplus of cap space, like the New England Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers and Seattle Seahawks, the top-51 rule is largely irrelevant. For other teams, though, it can mean a lot.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for example, face the league's biggest cap deficit at over $21 million. They're only $9.4 million over the cap with only the top 51 contracts considered, though. The Los Angeles Rams are technically over the cap, but under the top-51 rule, they have $5.7 million available.

This is relevant because it helps explain why teams with seemingly little cap space can keep adding players in late free agency. Essentially if a player signs a contract that is lower than those of 51 other players on the roster, he won't count against the offseason cap.

When a player signs and becomes one of the 51 highest-paid players on a roster, he'll inevitably bump another contract out of the top 51.

So while one might assume that only teams with a large amount of cap space will chase top remaining free agents like Teven Jenkins, Asante Samuel Jr., Keenan Allen and Justin Simmons, that's not necessarily the case.

Cap situations didn't change dramatically on Saturday, as most deals were of the bargain variety. The Kansas City Chiefs, for example, re-signed receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. The Dallas Cowboys signed receiver Parris Campbell to a one-year deal, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Arguably the biggest move of Saturday had nothing to do with free agency. The Atlanta Falcons kept quarterback Kirk Cousins past the 4 p.m. deadline, guaranteeing a $10 million roster bonus in 2026.

That means Cousins won't be hitting the free-agent market this offseason. For quarterback-needy teams like the Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers, a trade will be the only path to acquiring the 36-year-old.

A Cousins trade could occur—if he waives his no-trade clause—and could be what ultimately happens after the free-agent QB carousel stops spinning. Aaron Rodgers is still pondering his future, and Russell Wilson appears to be waiting on Rodgers' decision.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported on SportsCenter (h/t John Flanigan of SNY) that Wilson is "ready to sign" with a team but will likely wait for the Rodgers situation to unfold.

While Saturday may have been relatively quiet on the free-agency front, plans can expect to see plenty of activity in the coming days.