The Carolina Panthers enter the NFL business season with more dead money than salary cap space as of Thursday. Deals from the past have essentially haunted the Panthers’ present, as not all contracts work out in the NFL.
But the Panthers are in much better shape in both dead money and salary cap space than nearly a third of the league’s 32 teams. Despite having $14.38 million in dead cap, the Panthers are still well-above the salary cap mark with $12.95 million to spend, according to Over the Cap.
Ten teams, as of now, can’t say the same heading into next week’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.
What is dead money?
Dead money is a charge for a player who is no longer on the roster. Those charges can be accumulated through guaranteed money owed to the player and/or a signing bonus proration for future years of a contract that’s been terminated. Typically, teams spread out a signing bonus attached to a long-term deal to avoid massive charges in the first year of a contract. If the player is released or traded before the prorated bonus is paid on the salary cap, dead money is triggered to the current year.
If the player is released or traded after June 1, the team can split the charge between the current and following year.
The Panthers’ dead money situation
Dead money is spent money, so the bulk of the charges on the Panthers’ salary cap are for players no longer with the organization. Ultimately, every dollar paid to a player needs to be accounted for on the salary cap, whether the player remains on the roster or not.
On Monday, the contracts of center Austin Corbett and outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum voided. They will be free agents on March 11 at the start of the new league year. Both players had void years attached to their contracts to spread out the prorations of bonus money. Since their contract structures included the spreading of bonuses (for performance or signing), their voids triggered dead money immediately onto the salary cap.
Corbett, who met several incentives on his one-year deal last season, incurred a $4.41 million dead cap fee, while Wonnum had a $600,000 charge. Those two voids (roughly $5.01 million overall) added to a total that was around $9.3 million beforehand, according to Over The Cap.
The Panthers, outside of Corbett and Wonnum, also had dead money linked to linebacker Josey Jewell, wideout Adam Thielen, outside linebacker D.J. Johnson and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle.
Jewell was released last summer while dealing with a lingering concussion issue. Because he signed a three-year, $18.75 million deal with the Panthers in 2024, the entirety of the $10.13 million in guaranteed money in his contract wasn’t accounted for on the 2025 salary cap at the time of his release. So, the Panthers, who released him after June 1 of last year, were able to divide up the remaining charge with $2.33 million hitting the books this offseason.
Thielen was given a restructured contract with a signing bonus last offseason ahead of free agency. But the Panthers traded him to Minnesota in August, triggering a post-June 1 split charge on the salary cap. They’ll take on $3.33 million in debt this year because of that 2025 bonus.
Johnson and Tuttle, who were both acquired by the previous leadership group, were cut during the 2025 season. Tuttle was released during final cuts after taking a pay cut in the offseason, while Johnson — a 2023 third-round pick — was waived following a Week 4 blowout loss to the New England Patriots.
Both players had signing bonus money stretched out through their long-term deals. Tuttle signed a three-year deal in 2023, but even with the pay cut, the Panthers are forced to take on the $3.22 million charge to the cap. Johnson’s rookie contract had just $250,543 remaining in dead money.
The Panthers’ dead money total ranks 14th in the league as of now. Their overall available cap space ranks 19th, according to Over the Cap.
Where do the Panthers go from here?
The Panthers have plenty of ways to open up salary cap space.
Carolina can release well-paid players with limited or no guaranteed money left on their deals. The Panthers can extend overachievers and spread out their signing bonuses through the length of the updated deals. They can restructure the contracts of notable players to continue push spent money into future years. They can also ask players to take pay cuts.
Last offseason, Carolina used all four options. General manager Dan Morgan and football operations chief Brandt Tilis have likely discussed each avenue with a host of players on their current roster, and those discussions are likely to continue until the league tampering period begins on March 9.
The Panthers will need to open up salary cap space simply to pay for their upcoming rookie class. So there will almost certainly be some moving and shaking with contracts over the next few weeks. And that’s typical of almost all clubs in the NFL.