Even though we are a couple of months away from the start of the 2024 NFL Season, let's take a way too early look at the players with the highest cap hits. Having a player with a high cap hit is not necessarily a bad thing. If a team has an elite QB, they are in great shape, and at some point, that elite QB will carry a high cap hit.
That's just how it works. And the same goes for other players. What makes roster building so hard in the NFL is front office executives being able to navigate the salary cap all while still putting a strong roster on the field. Having to shell out $200 million + for a QB is usually a good thing, but those contracts catch up with the team at some point.
And that is true for 2024. Let's take a way too early look at the five highest cap hits in the NFL for the 2024 season.
2024 NFL Offseason: Which players have the highest cap hits?
5. Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams, $49,500,000
Matthew Stafford's 2022 season might have been the worst year of his career. He and the Los Angeles Rams bounced back nicely in 2023. They went 10-7 and squeezed their way into the playoffs, losing by a point to the Detroit Lions in the Wild Card Round. Stafford turns 36 in a few weeks, and is likely entering the final season or two of his NFL career.
I think the Rams may just ride it out with Stafford's contract, as he's likely not playing for much longer.
4. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals, $51,857,000
Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray signed a huge contract extension with the team and then tore his ACL during the 2022 NFL Season. He came back late in the 2023 NFL Season and looked like his old self, for the most part Murray is a franchise QB, and is one of the few true dual-threat passers in the NFL.
The Cardinals are slated to pick 4th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and they have a very good chance to draft stud WR Marvin Harrison Jr, which would give Murray an elite weapon and would make his life a lot easier. I think the Cardinals are going to surprise some people in 2024, and Murray is going to be a huge reason why.
3. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, $57,358,269
The third-highest cap hit in the NFL for the 2024 season belongs to Kansas City Chiefs QB, Patrick Mahomes. I don't think the Chiefs are complaining about the cap hit, as Mahomes is the best QB in the NFL, but I do think they'd entertain the idea of trying to bring this number down.
Mahomes is set to play in his sixth-straight AFC Championship Game, as the Chiefs look to advance to their second Super Bowl in a row. The Chiefs may have to deal with the financial ramifications of a large QB contract at some point, and I think it'll be interesting to see how they navigate his high cap hit in 2024.