Feb. 14, 2026, 1:25 p.m. CT

We’ve talked before about how the New Orleans Saints can take advantage of the surging NFL salary cap in 2026, but just how active could they be in free agency? And how can get there? The Saints pioneered contract restructure tactics to move money around and stay under the cap without cutting anyone, and that figures to be their approach again this year.

Simple restructures work like this. A team can reduce a player’s base salary to the NFL minimum and pay out the difference as a signing bonus, which is paid out over the life of the contract. So for example, let’s say the Saints restructure a player with a $5 million base salary and a $1 million signing bonus payout, with two years left on their deal. Instead of counting against the salary cap by $6 million, their cap hit would now be about $3.34 million, with their 2027 and 2028 cap hits rising by roughly $1.33 million. That’s a savings of $2.66 million.

But it gets more complicated with what are called maximum restructures. Max restructures use void years to save more money now by putting it off for later. Let’s say that same three-year contract gets two void years added to it for 2029 and 2030. So the player still becomes a free agent in 2029 but the Saints get more years to spread out the signing bonus for cap purposes. Now that difference is spread out over five years, reducing the 2026 cap hit from $6 million to a little over $2.8 million. The 2027 and 2028 cap hits go up by $788,000. And the biggest difference is that almost $1.6 million be left behind as dead money when the contract voids in 2029, rather than a clean break.

Now we know how the mechanics work. What does it mean for the Saints in 2026? If they only used simple restructures, the team could open up to $64 million. That would get them into the clear with about $40 million to spend on new contracts. If they really push the envelope and go with max restructures? That number climbs to $80.8 million, which is more than enough to overhaul the roster. It’s an opportunity to aggressively surround Tyler Shough with high-end talent and compete on the open market. The question is whether the Saints should seize that opportunity with both hands or take a more cautious approach.

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