Taking a look at the top 10 Buffalo Bills under contract in 2026, NFL salary cap projections and the team’s highest-paid players.
It was yet another disappointing season for Bills Mafia and the Buffalo Bills. Normally, a dominant regular season is followed by heartbreak at the hands of the boogyman (Chiefs). However, this past season was different. Not only did the Bills see an early exit from the playoffs, but they did not win their division either. This led to changes at the head coach position, firing Sean McDermott in order to promote Joe Brady. Will this change have any impact moving forward?
Below, we will take a look at the 10 best players that the Buffalo Bills 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.
10 Best Buffalo Bills Under Contract in 2026
These are the 10 best players the Buffalo Bills 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.
- Josh Allen, QB ($56.4M)
- Dion Dawkins, OT ($24.8M)
- Ed Oliver, DL ($23.9M)
- Spencer Brown, OT ($19.4M)
- Greg Rousseau, EDGE ($11.8M)
- Christian Benford, CB ($7.5M)
- Michael Hoecht, EDGE ($7.1M)
- Khalil Shakir, WR ($6.8M)
- James Cook, RB ($5.9M)
- Cole Bishop, S ($1.8M)
Highest Buffalo Bills Cap Hits in 2026
As things stand today, here is a list of the 10 highest player hits against the Buffalo Bills’ 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.
- QB Josh Allen, $56.4M ($173.5M dead cap)
- OT Dion Dawkins, $24.8M ($21.9M)
- DL Ed Oliver, $23.9M ($21.6M)
- OT Spencer Brown, $19.4M ($29.5)
- TE Dawson Knox, $17.9M ($7.4)
- EDGE Greg Rousseau, $11.8M ($32.9)
- WR Josh Palmer, $11.8M ($11.2M)
- CB Taron Johnson, $11.4M ($9.5M)
- LB Matt Milano, $11.1M ($11.1M)
- WR Curtis Samuel, $9.5M ($3.5M)
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 | 53 | $99,041,638 | $535,657 |
| 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 | 60 | $52,745,496 | $11,248,222 |
| 8 | PIT | 60 | $44,768,173 | $7,934,338 |
| 9 | LAR | 54 | $40,994,285 | $6,469,150 |
| 10 | NE | 64 | $35,200,699 | $20,364,345 |
| 11 | IND | 60 | $34,952,488 | $2,093,644 |
| 12 | ARI | 61 | $34,823,790 | $3,934,104 |
| 13 | ATL | 51 | $26,181,296 | $2,235,354 |
| 14 | DEN | 54 | $26,033,090 | $1,218,922 |
| 15 | BAL | 48 | $22,673,001 | $12,262,715 |
| 16 | SF | 58 | $22,523,414 | $36,327,740 |
| 17 | TB | 52 | $14,479,885 | $253,922 |
| 18 | CAR | 56 | $11,687,593 | $9,341,094 |
| 19 | PHI | 65 | $9,814,036 | $40,359,938 |
| 20 | NYG | 58 | $7,030,099 | $216,988 |
| 21 | MIA | 52 | -$3,699,267 | $73,949,385 |
| 22 | GB | 66 | -$4,344,831 | $17,171,715 |
| 23 | HOU | 57 | -$5,387,142 | $20,922,780 |
| 24 | DET | 49 | -$9,151,960 | $9,287,290 |
| 25 | JAX | 62 | -$9,166,552 | $42,000,184 |
| 26 | BUF | 63 | -$10,522,073 | $432,166 |
| 27 | CHI | 54 | -$10,688,349 | $542,995 |
| 28 | KC | 54 | -$14,403,869 | $215,642 |
| 29 | CLE | 55 | -$19,541,898 | $39,763,849 |
| 30 | DAL | 54 | -$31,529,252 | $24,344,178 |
| 31 | MIN | 54 | -$40,632,414 | $5,608,074 |
| 32 | NO | 66 | -$41,774,364 | $90,590,412 |
