Finally, the Chargers are in first place again.
According to Spotrac, the Chargers owe $21,840,169 to players who no longer reside on their roster. That's the highest "dead cap" figure in the NFL, edging out theBaltimore Ravens, who owe just under $19 million in dead cap. So no, being first in this particular category isn't a good thing.
Take a look at the entire list, which For The Win assembled:
- Chargers: $21.84M
- Ravens: $18.87M
- Jets: $17.32M
- Saints: $16.25M
- Cowboys: $16.25M
- Eagles: $14M
- 49ers: $13.43M
- Browns: $11.47M
- Redskins: $9.78M
- Texans: $9.44M
- Colts: $8.62M
- Chiefs: $8.59M
- Dolphins: $8.2M
- Bills: $7.92M
- Steelers: $6.36M
- Rams: $5.71M
- Titans: $4.83M
- Falcons: $4.57M
- Vikings: $4.47
- Jaguars: $4.39M
- Packers: $4.27
- Lions: $3.94M
- Bears: $3.8M
- Giants: 3.09M
- Cardinals: $2.94M
- Panthers: $1.98M
- Patriots: $1.55M
- Buccaneers: $865K
- Seahawks: $827K
- Bengals: $333K
- Broncos: $72K
- Raiders: $55K
The reason why the Chargers owe nearly $22 million? They're paying two offensive linemen -- Orlando Franklin and King Dunlap -- a combined $11,550,000 in 2017. Throw in the $4 million they owe cornerback Brandon Flowers and the $1 million they owe receiver Stevie Johnson and you can understand why their dead cap is so high. Meanwhile, the Ravens owe at least $2 million to each of the following players: Eugene Monroe, Dennis Pitta, Shareece Wright, Elvis Dumervil, Jeremy Zuttah and Lardarius Webb.
But enough about the teams on the wrong end of that list. Let's take a moment to praise the Raiders, who have completed a stunning salary cap turnaround.
The Raiders owe just $55,000 in dead cap. As our Joel Corry noted a few years ago, the Raiders had more than $55 million in dead money during the 2013 season. So, general manager Reggie McKenzie has managed to go from $55 million in dead cap to $55 thousand in just four years. That's incredible. The Chargers should probably pay attention to the team up north.
Once again, NorCal defeats SoCal.
Disclaimer: I live in Oakland.
