The San Francisco 49ers currently lead the NFL in dead money for the 2025 season, according to Over The Cap. Dead money refers to salary cap charges allocated to players no longer on the roster, though there's one notable exception in the 49ers' case.
San Francisco is carrying a staggering $92.7 million in dead money, which is $20.66 million more than the next-highest team, the Philadelphia Eagles, and $58.68 million above the league average.
How did the 49ers accumulate so much dead money?
A total of 17 players are contributing to the 49ers' league-leading dead cap figure in 2025. All but one are no longer with the team. The lone exception is fullback Kyle Juszczyk, whose offseason release and re-signing created $3.57 million in dead money despite his continued presence on the roster.
Below is the complete breakdown of each player and their associated dead money value:
- Deebo Samuel - $34,106,705
- Arik Armstead - $15,072,646
- Charvarius Ward - $12,298,000
- Leonard Floyd - $8,632,000
- Javon Hargrave - $6,710,764
- Kyle Juszczyk - $3,570,750
- Mitch Wishnowsky - $3,260,000
- De'Vondre Campbell - $2,680,000
- Dre Greenlaw - $1,864,766
- Maliek Collins - $1,358,000
- Isaac Yiadom - $1,100,000
- Jon Feliciano - $470,000
- Cameron Latu - $428,756
- Drake Jackson - $366,344
- Danny Gray - $212,255
- Taybor Pepper - $150,002
- Jarrett Kingston - $103,791
The most significant chunk stems from Deebo Samuel, who was traded to the Washington Commanders and accounts for more than double the dead money of the next player on the list, defensive lineman Arik Armstead.
Cap relief is on the horizon
Despite the significant 2025 cap hit, the 49ers are positioned for relief in 2026. Over The Cap's current projections indicate a decrease to $20.23 million in dead money, unless there are future releases or trades. With Brock Purdy now earning one of the NFL's highest quarterback salaries, managing the salary cap efficiently becomes even more critical.
As of now, San Francisco holds $53.49 million in salary cap space, much of which is expected to be rolled over into future years for added financial flexibility.
When asked if there are any concerns regarding the cap ramifications of this offseason's roster overhaul, general manager John Lynch confidently replied, "Not at all. Now, I've seen some stuff in the last couple of days that say we have the second-most room. We always look at cap over a three-year window, so I would tell people, some of the room we've created for '25 is because '26 and '27 is going to be extremely tight."