2023 NFL Season: Which players have the highest cap hits?
Which players have the highest cap hits as we progress into the 2023 NFL season? Are they all quarterbacks, or are other positions? Having a high cap hit isn’t always a bad thing, but they do take up a large portion of the cap.
It’s typical practice to try and keep the cap hits as low as possible, especially when signing players to high-dollar extensions. Teams can also restructure contracts to reduce cap charges as well. There really isn’t a perfect science as it pertains to contracts.
Let’s look at the five highest cap hits in the league heading towards the 2023 NFL season.
2023 NFL Season: Which players have the highest cap hits?
5. TJ Watt – $29,368,694
TJ Watt is arguably the best pass rusher in the entire NFL, and his massive contract, which makes him the highest paid player at his position, is evidence of that. His nearly $30 million cap hit is quite the amount to endure.
Watt might be past his prime, but he’s still an effective an elite player.
4. Jared Goff – $30,975,000
Jared Goff’s second season in Detroit was a bit of a breakout one under the offensive coordination of Ben Johnson. It’s been reported that Goff and the Lions are attempting to negotiate a long-term extension, which would likely reduce his cap hit in 2023.
Goff should stick around in Detroit, and I don’t get all the calls for the Lions to try and upgrade.
3. Leonard Williams – $32,260,000
If I gave you 10 guesses to guess who had the third highest cap hit in the 2023 NFL season, I don’t think you’d mention Giants’ interior defensive stud Leonard Williams. He and Dexter Lawrence are perhaps the best DL duo in the NFL and Williams should still be considered a staple of that team.
The Giants shocked everyone in 2022, and their tough defense, which begins up front, was a big reason for that.
2. Ryan Tannehill – $36,600,000
I’m shocked that Ryan Tannehill is still on the Tennessee Titans. The 2023 NFL season looks to be a rebuilding one for the team under new GM, Ran Carthon. He’s parted with a few veteran players this offseason and again, I’m shocked that Tannehill wasn’t one of them at this point.
He’s a serviceable QB at this point in his career and certainly not worth the massive cap hit he has in 2023. The Titans might be trying to retool but still remain competitive, but that has proven to not work in recent years.
1. Patrick Mahomes – $39,693,391
Well, if there’s any player in the NFL who “deserves” to have the highest cap hit in the NFL, it’s Patrick Mahomes, who not only won his second MVP award, but won a second Super Bowl in 2022. He’s already built an Hall of Fame career in just five seasons as a starter.
Now entering his seventh season in the NFL, Mahomes looks to continue to built what could be one of the greatest careers in the history of professional sports.