Salary Cap

Carolina Panthers

Carolina's cap situation demands discipline right now. The team carries just $11.5M in room, ranking 29th in the league, while $24.6M in dead money (rank 18) further constrains flexibility. The rollover of $13.8M (rank 11) provides a modest cushion heading into next year, where cap room improves slightly to $14.3M (rank 20), but that is still a bottom-third situation leaguewide. Committed money spikes to $314.3M next season before dropping sharply to $201.5M the season after and then to $107.2M two seasons further out, which is when the team finally gets genuine financial breathing room. The 29 expiring contracts on the current roster are a double-edged number: many of those will walk for free, easing the books, but the team will also need to re-sign contributors from its young core during that same window. Cutting Feleipe Franks and Stone Forsythe recovers $2.4M against minimal dead money and should be done immediately. The Tershawn Wharton decision, which frees $8.0M against $10.6M in dead money, is a net cap loss this year and requires a longer view on whether the savings matter more than the short-term hit.