Salary cap-tracking sites like Over The Cap are using the rough midpoint of those two numbers, $303.5 million, to estimate team-by-team cap space for the 2026 season. Using that number, the Giants have $7.941 million in space. They are only $2.158 million over in \u201ceffective cap space,\u201d the space calculated to include what the Giants are expected to need to sign their 2026 rookie class.<\/p>\n
How can the Giants have salary cap flexibility if they have little to no cap space? There are many layers to the answer. I don\u2019t claim to know the cap inside and out, but I will do the best I can to explain where the Giants are, why Schoen feels good about the situation, what they can do to open cap space, and where they could end up in March when free agency arrives.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with a simple fact. More than a third of the NFL is in worse salary cap shape right now than the Giants. Twelve teams are over the $303.5 million mark for 2026 before even considering signing rookies. So, right away, it isn\u2019t as bad as it may seem at first blush.<\/p>\n
The Giants are 31st (or second-best) in the league in dead money with just $216,804. The New York Jets lead the NFL in dead money with $75.621 million. Dead money is money a team cannot spend because it has been allocated to players no longer with the team.<\/p>\n
Schoen gets criticism for not adding void years to contracts. The result of that approach, though, is that whatever the final cap figure, the Giants will be able to spend all of it on the 2026 roster.<\/p>\n
With Dawn Aponte now in the front office as the organization\u2019s salary cap strategist and chief salary negotiator, it is fair to wonder how the team\u2019s approach to the cap and contracts might change. Here are some thoughts on how the Giants can fairly easily clear a substantial amount of cap space before free agency.<\/p>\n
There are a couple of \u201cobvious\u201d moves, and a handful of \u201cmaybe\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
PK Graham Gano \u2014 Cap savings: $4.5M | Dead money: $1.25M
OT James Hudson \u2014 Cap savings: $5.38M | Dead money: $2.305M
RB Devin Singletary \u2014 Cap savings: $5.25M | Dead money: $1.25M<\/p>\n
You might argue that Singletary could have a place on the 2026 roster. No chance he sticks as the No. 3 running back at his current $6.5 million cap hit, though. Taking a restructure or outright pay cut would seem to be his only chance to stay.<\/p>\n
Cap savings from those three cuts: $15.13 million.<\/p>\n
Total estimated cap space after those cuts is $23.071 million.<\/p>\n
There are two that would save significant cap space.<\/p>\n
LB Bobby Okereke \u2014 Cap savings: $9M | Dead money: $5.463M
G Jon Runyan Jr. \u2014 Cap savings: $9.25M | Dead money: $2.5M<\/p>\n
Based on the finances and a guess that Harbaugh might want to upgrade the interior of the line, I think Runyan is vulnerable. Those two cuts would add $18.25M in cap space to our $23.071 million.<\/p>\n
Our total cap space: $41.321 million.<\/p>\n
If the Giants wanted to drop wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, that would save another $1.517M with just $272,000 in dead money. That would bring us to $42.838 million in cap space.<\/p>\n
Potential contract restructures<\/p>\n
There are two ways to restructure NFL contracts: simple restructures and maximum restructures.<\/p>\n
A simple restructure converts payments into prorated signing bonuses within the confines of the remainder of the contract. Teams typically have the ability to unilaterally execute simple restructures without any action necessary from the player.A maximum restructure increases the amount of cap space via conversion into prorated signing bonuses by either extending the contract or by adding void years to a contract, years that do not extend the contract but are only used as placeholders for the proration. Maximum restructures are typically considered a renegotiation of the contract that requires the player\u2019s consent to execute.<\/p>\n
OTC has put together a chart showing the restructuring potential for each team. This chart was compiled before the league announced the 2026 salary cap would be between $301 and $305 million, so the amount of space the Giants would have after restructures is slightly off. The impact, though, remains the same.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>If the Giants executed a simple restructure of every contract they have that is eligible to be restructured, they would save $61.183 million under the cap, per Over the Cap\u2019s calculations.If the Giants executed a maximum restructure of every contract eligible to be restructured, they would save an astronomical $126.743 million.<\/p>\n