Taking a look at the top 10 Chicago Bears under contract in 2026, NFL salary cap projections and the team’s highest-paid players.
One of the league’s biggest improvements this past season was the Chicago Bears. After naming Ben Johnson to be the team’s new head coach, they went out and paid offensive linemen to create one of the best OL units in the league. This led to winning the NFC North, and now the Bears look positioned to compete at a high level next season.
Below, we will take a look at the 10 best players that the Chicago Bears 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 Chicago Bears salary cap data below is accurate as of February 19th, 2026.
10 Best Chicago Bears Under Contract in 2026
These are the 10 best players the Chicago Bears 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.
- Montez Sweat, EDGE ($25.1)
- Joe Thuney, G ($21.5)
- Jonah Jackson, G ($19.5M)
- Tremaine Edmunds, LB ($17.4M)
- Drew Dalman, C ($14M)
- Darnell Wright, OT ($6.7M)
- TJ Edwards, LB ($10.8M)
- D’Andre Swift, RB ($8.8M)
- Rome Odunze, WR ($6.2M)
- Cairo Santos, K ($3.8M)
Highest Chicago Bears Cap Hits in 2026
As things stand today, here is a list of the 10 highest player hits against the Chicago Bears’ 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.
- WR DJ Moore, $28.5M ($35.5M dead cap)
- EDGE Montez Sweat, $25.1 ($8.2M)
- CB Jaylon Johnson, $25M ($18M)
- G Joe Thuney, $21.5 ($26M)
- EDGE Dayo Odeyingbo, $20.5 ($22M)
- G Jonah Jackson, $19.5M ($14M)
- DL Grady Jarrett, $18.9M ($21M)
- LB Tremaine Edmunds, $17.4M ($2.4M)
- C Drew Dalman, $14M ($13.5M)
- CB Kyler Gordon, $13.3M ($17.5M)
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 |
