Every NFL Team's Most Overpaid Player Following Peak 2026 Free Agency

Few significant deals are left to be signed this NFL offseason, which means we can settle in and judge the moves made so far.

One fun annual judgment is assessing who are the league's most overpaid players.

Here's a team-by-team rundown.

AFC East

AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File

Garrett Wilson

Buffalo Bills: DL Ed Oliver

It was a toss-up between Oliver and Greg Rousseau, neither of whom has lived up to hefty contracts. Oliver is a 28-year-old zero-time Pro Bowler who missed almost the entire 2025 season but has a $17 million average annual value, while Rousseau is a good-not-great edge who has never registered more than eight sacks in his five NFL seasons but makes $20 million a year.

Miami Dolphins: DL Zach Sieler

There isn't much competition here. Sieler is one of just two Dolphins with an AAV north of $10 million, and let's give Malik Willis a moment to settle in. Sieler isn't a bad player, but he's on the wrong side of 30 now and his numbers declined across the board in 2025. His three-year, $64 million extension doesn't even kick in until 2027. 

New England Patriots: DL Christian Barmore

The interior defensive lineman show continues with Barmore, who has lacked both consistency and durability for much of his five-year run thus far in New England. The 26-year-old is a solid piece of the puzzle for the Patriots, but he's yet to live up to a top-20 positional AAV at $20.8 million.

New York Jets: WR Garrett Wilson

He's still technically cheap for now, but that four-year, $130 million extension kicks in next year and Wilson's $32.5 million AAV ranks sixth at the position. The talent and potential are undeniable, but this is still a guy who has never put up 1,200 yards or eight touchdowns in a single season and is making borderline Justin Jefferson money. 

AFC North

AP Photo/David Dermer

Tee Higgins

Baltimore Ravens: CB Marlon Humphrey

The Ravens will be free of Humphrey's large contract next offseason, but they should consider trading or even releasing the four-time Pro Bowler with a post-June 1 designation this spring. His $26.3 million salary-cap hit for 2026 is the second-highest among NFL cornerbacks, and the soon-to-be 30-year-old is coming off a horrendous campaign in which he ranked 66th among 67 qualified corners at Pro Football Focus. 

Cincinnati Bengals: WR Tee Higgins

For the third consecutive season, Cincinnati's "other" receiver is the clear-cut "winner" here. Higgins did score a career-high 11 touchdowns in 2025, but he fell short of 1,000 yards for the third year in a row. It's wild that he's one of the 12 highest-paid receivers in the league with a $28.8 million AAV. 

Cleveland Browns: QB Deshaun Watson

The 12th-highest-paid player in football has thrown 19 touchdown passes since the end of the 2020 season. Enough said. Since this is such an obvious pick, we'll also mention declining cornerback Denzel Ward and his ridiculous $30.9 million 2026 cap hit. 

Pittsburgh Steelers: Edge T.J. Watt

He's had an incredible career, but Watt's three-year, $123 million contract makes him the third-highest-paid defensive player in the league. His sack numbers have plummeted in back-to-back campaigns entering his age-32 season. The eight-time Pro Bowler is not even close to being worth that kind of money these days. 

AFC South

AP Photo/Maria Lysaker

Nico Collins

Houston Texans: WR Nico Collins

To Texans general manager Nick Caserio's credit, even this is a bit of a reach, as there aren't any glaringly overpaid players on Houston's roster. That said, Collins will cost the team $27.8 million in 2026 (the fifth-highest cap number in the league at that position), and he scored just six touchdowns while catching fewer than 60 percent of the passes thrown his way in 2025. They need more from him.

Indianapolis Colts: WR Alec Pierce

Pierce was in the right place at the right time as the wide receiver market was essentially reset with him this month in free agency. His new four-year, $114 million deal makes him the 12th-highest-paid wideout in the NFL despite the fact that he's never caught 50 passes, scored eight touchdowns or hit the 1,100-yard mark in his four-year career. 

Jacksonville Jaguars: WR Jakobi Meyers

An AFC South run on receivers continues with a seven-year veteran who has scored just seven touchdowns the last two seasons combined and has just one 1,000-yard campaign on his resume but is one of 23 members of the $20-million-a-year wide receiver club. There's limited upside ahead of Meyers' age-30 campaign in Jacksonville. 

Tennessee Titans: OT Dan Moore Jr. 

This was a weird signing and an obvious overpay from the jump last offseason, as Moore had surrendered a league-high 12 sacks in 2024 and was a fourth-round pick who never really performed better than a borderline starter in Pittsburgh. In his first year with the Titans, the 27-year-old gave up eight more sacks and ranked 44th among 58 qualified offensive tackles at PFF. His $26.4 million 2026 cap hit ranks fourth at that position.  

AFC West

AP Photo/Maria Lysaker

Maxx Crosby

Denver Broncos: G Ben Powers

Denver's offensive line is fantastic, but Powers is clearly the weakest link. The left guard is a replacement-level player who missed significant time due to injury in 2025 and is entering his age-30 campaign with no Pro Bowl nods on his resume. His $18.2 million cap hit for 2026 is the ninth-highest at the position. 

Kansas City Chiefs: DL Chris Jones

The seven-time Pro Bowler is still a stellar pass-rusher, but he is also clearly declining at the age of 31. Jones' approximate value total at Pro Football Reference has dropped significantly in back-to-back campaigns, and only five players in the league have higher cap numbers than his total of $44.9 million for 2026. 

Las Vegas Raiders: Edge Maxx Crosby

The Raiders explored moving on from Crosby for a reason. The five-time Pro Bowler just isn't the same player he was a few years ago, and that is unlikely to change in his age-29 season. He is no longer a top-five edge defender, but his $35.8 million 2026 cap hit will be the second-highest at that position.

Los Angeles Chargers: Edge Khalil Mack

The 35-year-old is back at a price of $18 million for 2026, which is extreme considering his limitations as an over-the-hill situational player who has been held to fewer than 10 sacks in six of his last seven campaigns.

NFC East

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

A.J. Brown

Dallas Cowboys: CB DaRon Bland

Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark were also strong candidates with output that doesn't align with $20-plus million AAVs, but Bland is the clear-cut winner. The 2022 fifth-round pick has one good season under his belt, but that was enough to earn him a four-year, $90 million deal. He's missed significant time while being consistently rocked in coverage when on the field the last two seasons, all as the sixth-highest-paid corner in the sport.

New York Giants: CB Paulson Adebo

Like Bland, the injury-prone Adebo got paid big bucks last offseason based on a standout 2023 campaign. But he struggled to stay on the field and was often exposed in coverage in his first year with the G-Men. His $24.2 million 2026 cap hit ranks fourth in the league among players at his position. 

Philadelphia Eagles: WR A.J. Brown

Jordan Davis is certainly overpaid based on his position and production, but that contract is friendly in the short term and he has room to grow. So instead we're calling out Brown, who signed a three-year, $96 million extension two years ago and has not matched his earlier peak production since. He barely reached 1,000 yards in 2025 and has a top-10 AAV and cap hit entering 2026. Throw in the tension surrounding his situation within the organization, and this is a no-brainer.

Washington Commanders: WR Terry McLaurin

The seventh-highest-paid receiver in the NFL has never hit 1,200 yards, has scored eight-plus touchdowns just once and never caught 90 passes in a season. Now durability could be a concern for a good-not-great player on the wrong side of 30. 

NFC North

AP Photo/Stacy Bengs

T.J. Hockenson

Chicago Bears: Edge Dayo Odeyingbo

The Bears gave Odeyingbo a three-year, $48 million deal last offseason in hopes that he'd take another step forward after back-to-back promising campaigns in Indy. But he struggled in his first eight games, registering just one sack and two tackles for loss before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in Week 9. Far from ideal for a guy who will count $20.5 million against the cap in 2026. 

Detroit Lions: DT Alim McNeill

McNeill is a promising and talented defensive lineman who has yet to deliver and has now missed 14 games the last three seasons. When, if ever, will the 25-year-old break through? He's due more than $85 million between now and 2028. 

Green Bay Packers: G Aaron Banks

The bar is ridiculously high for Jordan Love and Micah Parsons based on their monster contracts, but neither has disappointed broadly and we wanted to go outside the box a bit more. Enter Banks, a big-money 2025 addition who struggled out of the gate and finished the season ranked 44th among 57 qualified guards at PFF. The 28-year-old has done little in five years to indicate he should be the seventh-highest-paid guard in the league. 

Minnesota Vikings: TE T.J. Hockenson

The Vikings are loaded with strong candidates including Justin Jefferson, Jonathan Greenard and Will Fries, but at this point Hockenson has to be considered one of the most overpaid players in the league. The former star has scored just three touchdowns since the start of 2024 and has fallen short of 500 yards in each of the last two seasons. Even after a recent restructure, his $15.6 million 2026 cap hit leads all tight ends. 

NFC South

AP Photo/Peter Joneleit

Chris Godwin Jr.

Atlanta Falcons: CB A.J. Terrell

Tua Tagovailoa is comically overpaid, but most of that is not on Atlanta's tab. And Kirk Cousins is effectively off the roster as well. So that leaves Terrell, who appears to have peaked half a decade ago and is coming off an awful season in which he ranked 54th among 67 qualified corners at PFF. He's an OK player with the eighth-highest AAV in the league at that position. 

Carolina Panthers: Edge Jaelan Phillips

Phillips put up a top-20 PFF pass-rushing grade among qualified edge defenders in 2025, but he was limited to just two sacks in eight games with the Eagles as a rental, and injuries cost him the vast majority of 2023 and 2024 before the Dolphins bailed on him. Considering the 26-year-old has never been a first- or second-team All-Pro or a Pro Bowler, it's pretty wild that he's just the 12th defensive player in the $30 million AAV club.

New Orleans Saints: RB Alvin Kamara

We'll see if the five-time Pro Bowler sticks around following the addition of Travis Etienne Jr., because even after a recent restructure Kamara is a relative albatross with a $10.5 million cap hit for 2026. That ranks sixth at the running back position for a player who peaked several years ago and saw his numbers drop sharply as a 30-year-old in 2025.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR Chris Godwin Jr.

Right now, that three-year, $66 million extension from the 2025 offseason is looking silly, as Godwin might be the most overpaid player in the NFL considering his $33.7 million cap hit for 2026. That ranks first among all wide receivers, which is a shame because the 30-year-old has failed to play in double-digit games in back-to-back seasons and his productivity when healthy plummeted in 2025. 

NFC West

AP Photo/Tyler Kaufman

Nick Bosa

Arizona Cardinals: Edge Josh Sweat

Sweat's debut season with the Cardinals was solid on paper (12 sacks, four forced fumbles in 17 games), but he couldn't carry a defense that ranked 29th in points allowed for a team that lost 14 games. And despite being the 17th-highest-paid edge defender in the league, he was not ranked in the top 25 among qualifiers at that position by PFF.

Los Angeles Rams: TE Colby Parkinson

Honestly, kudos to the Rams front office because this was the toughest one we had to tackle. Quentin Lake feels like a bit of an overpay as a $13-million-a-year safety and they spent big on corners this offseason, but both Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson were top-10 at that position at PFF in 2025. We had to reach massively for Parkinson, who will carry a high-ish $9.1 million cap hit in 2026 as a guy who has never caught 50 passes or hit 500 yards in a season. 

San Francisco 49ers: Edge Nick Bosa

Bosa is awesome, but his production fell off markedly in back-to-back seasons before he missed all but three games in 2025. It's fair to wonder if he peaked as Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. If so, that five-year, $170 million contract will become problematic. He is the seventh-highest-paid defensive player in football. 

Seattle Seahawks: WR Cooper Kupp

The former Offensive Player of the Year didn't have a bad 2025 season for a 32-year-old non-centerpiece, but that's sort of the point. He's slated to cost the team $35.5 million over the course of the next two seasons despite the fact that he was targeted just 4.4 times per game in his debut campaign with the Seahawks. The focus has shifted to Rashid Shaheed. 

Salary information courtesy of Spotrac.