Eagles salary cap breakdown entering 2022 NFL season
One of the most important off-season’s in Eagles franchise history is complete and with Carson Wentz’s dead money off the books, the Birds are looking at much greener pastures from a salary cap standpoint moving forward.
After the salary cap decreased from $198.2 million in 2020 to $182.5 million in 2021 due to the COVID-19 impact, the cap rose to $208.2 million in 2022.
The Eagles were efficient during free agency, but Howie Roseman still made the necessary moves to position the team for financial success moving forward.
Here’s a look at Philadelphia’s current salary cap breakdown with training camp over a month away.
Cap space
Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Cap Space: $13,291,230 Over The Cap
Over the Cap has Philadelphia with the 15th most available cap space, but those numbers aren’t fully official. The team gained some cap space with the initial release of Fletcher Cox during free agency and Brandon Brooks’s retirement.
Biggest cap hits
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave tops the list.
DT Javon Hargrave — $17,802,000
OT Lane Johnson $15,763,000
DT Fletcher Cox $14,000,000
CB Darius Slay $9,731,000
DE Brandon Graham $9,413,000
C Jason Kelce $8,045,000
OG Isaac Seumalo $7,668,000
WR A.J. Brown $5,680,894
K Jake Elliott $5,086,000
WR DeVonta Smith $4,577,589
Dead money on the cap
Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Dead Money: $52,034,804
Fletcher Cox $9,641,408
Malik Jackson $9,033,000
Derek Barnett $7,248,800
Brandon Brooks $5,939,235
Alshon Jeffery $5,435,706
Zach Ertz $3,548,000
Anthony Harris $2,408,000
Rodney McLeod $2,140,000
Joe Flacco $1,940,000
Steven Nelson $1,508,000
Eric Wilson $1,372,000
Ryan Kerrigan $1,140,000
Rick Lovato $375,000
John Hightower $150,026
TOTAL $52,034,804
Philadelphia got out from underneath Cox’s huge 2022 cap number with the release, but there’s still significant cap space being sucked up by his dead money hit, along with Malik Jackson and Derek Barnett. In total, 14 current or former Eagles account for almost $53 million in dead cap space.
Effective June 2
Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
In NFL terminology, June 1 is the final day that teams see all future prorated money accelerate as “dead money” if a player is released.
Starting Thursday, June 2, any player who is released will only have his current season’s prorated money count against the salary cap and the rest will be deferred to 2023.
The Eagles shocked some people around NFL circles by risking the loss of defensive tackle Fletcher Cox after they released the 12-year veteran. Cox was re-signed on a $14 million deal and his initial release saves the club $5.3 million.
Cox will now count for over $15 million on the 2023 salary cap, something Howie Roseman must address.
Brooks retiring saves the Eagles only $1.2 million in cap space.
Brooks was originally scheduled to count for $19,439,235 on the 2022 salary cap and Philadelphia would have been on the hook for more than $15,736,472 in dead money with an outright release and/or retirement prior to June 1.
With Brooks retiring that dead money gets spread out over two seasons ($5,939,235 in 2022, and $9,797,237 in 2023).
How can Eagles shed more salary?
(AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Lots of trades happen after the June 1 date and a player to watch could be Eagles wide receiver Jalen Reagor, who could use a change of scenery.
Had the Eagles traded Reagor prior to June 1, they have a dead cap hit of $3,605,700 on their books in 2022. Now the move becomes half that figure ($1,802,850) and more importantly, it would count toward 2023.
Total Spending
Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Offense: $93,214,512
Defense: $88,708,144
Special: $7,029,333
Philadelphia is evenly spending on both sides of the ball, with the acquisitions of A.J. Brown, Haason Reddick, and Kyzir White adding hefty chunks to both sides.
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