Detroit Lions salary cap situation for 2026 season

6 days ago 2

The Detroit Lions had an enviable payroll situation in 2025, but that may change for 2026.

The Lions finished the 2025 season at 9-8, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2022 and narrowly avoiding a sub-.500 finish for the first time since 2021. And while the Lions built what many believed was a Super Bowl contender before the season on relatively team-friendly contracts, new salary obligations might squeeze the Lions from the cap room they enjoyed in the 2025 season.

The Lions had about $286 million in cap liabilities in the 2025 season, headlined by quarterback Jared Goff's $18 million base salary. But Goff's guaranteed salary for 2026 jumps to $55 million (with a cap hit of $69 million), a big reason why the Lions' cap liabilities are set to jump to $311 million for the 2026 season.

Many other star players see eight-figure guaranteed salary jumps from 2025 to 2026, including edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (from $5.5 million guaranteed to $29.6 million guaranteed), wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (from $8.3 million to $27.5 million), offensive tackle Penei Sewell (from $1.5 million to $19.9 million) and defensive tackle Alim McNeill (from $1.2 million to $19.9 million).

As a result, the Lions have about $4.3 million in cap space for the 2026 season according to OverTheCap, though OTC estimates the Lions have minus-$12.2 million in effective cap space, which is the cap space estimate for a team once it reaches the minimum of 51 players signed for a season (the Lions have 38 players currently on the active roster for 2026).

If there's any saving grace for the Lions, however, it's their relatively small amount of dead money entering 2026 compared to the rest of the league ($4.4 million, 18th in NFL).

Here's a quick overview of the Lions' cap situation.

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