NFL Free Agency Frenzy
NFL free agency's been wild: Cowboys restructured Steele 10, Chiefs traded McDuffie to Rams 10, Dolphins cut Tua 10 ($99.2M dead cap!). Tua's still in a good spot despite the release ESPN.
The Cowboys' restructuring of Steele's contract created about $13 million in cap space, adding $22 million in guaranteed money to his deal. Steele was set to earn $48.5M over the next three years, so he essentially took a pay cut to $33M in exchange for the guaranteed money. The Cowboys also restructured the contract of safety Malik Hooker, freeing up another $2 million in cap space. The Chiefs traded All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams for the 29th overall pick in the 2026 draft, a fifth-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a 2027 third-round pick. The Rams also agreed to a four-year contract extension with McDuffie. The Chiefs were facing a salary cap crunch and would have been unable to afford a long-term contract extension for McDuffie. The Dolphins' release of Tagovailoa carries a $99 million dead cap hit, the largest in NFL history. The dead cap money will be spread across two seasons: $67.4 million in 2026 and $31.8 million in 2027. Tagovailoa's performance dipped after signing a 4-year, $212.4 million contract in 2024, leading to him being benched.
