While some NFL teams will be weighed down by dead cap charges during the 2026 offseason, the Indianapolis Colts do not fall into that category.
Dead cap is money that still counts against a team's salary cap, even if that player is no longer on the team.
Dead money is dollars that have been paid to a player but haven't yet been accounted for against the salary cap.
A signing bonus, for example, is paid out to a player right away, but for cap purposes, those charges are spread out over the life of the deal. So if a player ends up elsewhere rather than finishing out the contract, the cap charges from the signing bonus still have to count towards the salary cap -- they don't just disappear.
According to Over the Cap, the Colts have just $2.09 million in dead cap counting against their 2026 salary cap. Compared to the rest of the NFL, only 11 teams have less.
Indianapolis Colts 2026 dead salary cap hits
- AD Mitchell ($1.095M)
- JuJu Brents ($740,352)
- Tim Smith ($175,770)
Overall, the Colts are positioned well salary cap-wise this offseason. Indianapolis has $26.9 million in available space, which ranks as the 13th-most.
Perhaps this helps set up GM Chris Ballard for another aggressive offseason.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts salary cap update: How much dead cap is on 2026 books?