Taking a look at the top 10 New Orleans Saints under contract in 2026, NFL salary cap projections and the team’s highest-paid players.
It is no secret that the New Orleans Saints have put themselves in a major hole when it comes to their financial situation in the NFL. Given that they do not have a strong young corps and not too many players to build around on the team, the Saints will be rebuilding for the better part of a decade. As the offseason comes to a head, the Saints will have to get creative to make their financial situation work, while still being competitive enough to field a team.
Below, we will take a look at the 10 best players that the New Orleans Saints still have under contract for next season. We will also look at NFL salary cap projections and the top cap hits on the team in 2026.
All New Orleans Saints salary cap data below is accurate as of February 22nd, 2026.
10 Best New Orleans Saints Under Contract in 2026
These are the 10 best players the New Orleans Saints still have under contract for the 2026 season, in the order of their current salary cap hit. For those who know ball, you will recognize that these are the team’s 10 best players and not just the players that journalism nerds think they need to talk about.
- Chase Young, EDGE ($20.5M)
- Cameron Jordan, DL ($18.8M)
- Chris Olave, WR ($15.5M)
- Demario Davis, LB ($14.3M)
- Juwan Johnson, TE ($13.9M)
- Justin Reid, S ($11.6M)
- Kelvin Banks Jr, OT ($6.3M)
- Bryan Breese, DL ($3.9M)
- Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB ($2.5M)
- Tyler Shough, QB ($2.6M)
Highest New Orleans Saints Cap Hits in 2026
As things stand today, here is a list of the 10 highest player hits against the New Orleans Saints’ salary cap in 2026. Obviously, contracts can be manipulated, and a player could be cut or traded as well. In the case of a release, we have listed a player’s dead cap. This is how much money they would count against the cap if they are cut from the team.
- EDGE, Chase Young, $20.5M ($29.4M dead cap)
- DL, Cameron Jordan, $18.8M ($18.8M)
- HB, Alvin Kamara, $18.6M ($18.3M)
- EDGE, Carl Granderson, $18.1M ($18.5M)
- C, Erik McCoy, $17.7M ($18.2M)
- WR, Chris Olave, $15.5M ($15.5M)
- LB, Demario Davis, $14.3M ($14.3M)
- G, Cesar Ruiz, $14.2M ($16.8M)
- TE, Juwan Johnson, $13.9M ($22.5M)
- TE, Taysom Hill, $13.7M ($13.7M)
NFL Salary Cap Projections 2026
The league has informed teams that the 2026 NFL salary cap will be between $301.2 million and $305.7 million per team. Below, we will assume a salary cap of $303.45 million, using data from Spotrac.
| Rk | TM | Current Players | Cap Space | Dead Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TEN | 52 | $97,776,638 | $5,135,657 |
| 2 | LV | 49 | $87,821,212 | $35,238,302 |
| 3 | LAC | 52 | $82,100,325 | $478,183 |
| 4 | NYJ | 51 | $78,990,889 | $88,996,619 |
| 5 | WAS | 52 | $66,506,531 | $12,592,731 |
| 6 | SEA | 57 | $63,421,971 | $483,724 |
| 7 | CIN | 63 | $52,675,496 | $11,248,222 |
| 8 | PIT | 60 | $44,768,173 | $7,934,338 |
| 9 | LAR | 53 | $44,390,412 | $8,570,436 |
| 10 | IND | 60 | $34,952,488 | $2,093,644 |
| 11 | NE | 64 | $34,800,699 | $20,364,345 |
| 12 | ARI | 59 | $32,813,790 | $14,951,854 |
| 13 | ATL | 50 | $26,181,296 | $4,660,354 |
| 14 | DEN | 55 | $26,033,090 | $1,218,922 |
| 15 | BAL | 48 | $22,673,001 | $12,262,715 |
| 16 | SF | 59 | $22,453,414 | $36,327,740 |
| 17 | TB | 52 | $14,479,885 | $253,922 |
| 18 | CAR | 54 | $9,875,093 | $14,607,844 |
| 19 | NYG | 58 | $7,030,099 | $216,988 |
| 20 | PHI | 56 | $3,679,036 | $53,387,574 |
| 21 | MIA | 52 | -$3,699,267 | $73,949,385 |
| 22 | GB | 66 | -$4,344,831 | $17,171,715 |
| 23 | HOU | 54 | -$8,042,142 | $39,318,780 |
| 24 | DET | 49 | -$9,151,960 | $9,287,290 |
| 25 | CHI | 53 | -$9,503,349 | $917,995 |
| 26 | JAX | 61 | -$12,074,552 | $50,977,118 |
| 27 | KC | 54 | -$14,403,869 | $215,642 |
| 28 | BUF | 59 | -$15,187,073 | $30,093,166 |
| 29 | CLE | 55 | -$19,541,898 | $39,763,849 |
| 30 | DAL | 54 | -$25,890,723 | $24,344,178 |
| 31 | MIN | 54 | -$40,632,414 | $5,608,074 |
| 32 | NO | 66 | -$41,774,364 | $90,590,412 |
