Dolphins become cap compliant with series of contract restructures
The Dolphins have a tight salary-cap situation, but on Monday they ensured that they will be compliant ahead of the start of the NFL’s new league year at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Miami got under the cap and cleared $28.7 million in space by restructuring the contracts of cornerback Jalen Ramsey, defensive lineman Zach Sieler, fullback Alec Ingold and tight end Durham Smythe, according to NFL Network.
The Dolphins entered the first day of the legal tampering period Monday about $23 million over the cap. Miami will likely still need to clear more space to retain free agents and make additions; the team has already agreed to terms with outside linebacker Shaq Barrett, inside linebackers Anthony Walker Jr., and Jordyn Brooks, and center Aaron Brewer.
Contract restructures typically involve a team converting base salary to a signing bonus, which is then prorated over multiple years to lower a player’s cap hit.
While it provides shortterm relief, it increases future cap hits, which can backfire if a player struggles or deals with injury.
For all cap conversions, the Dolphins also tapped into what has been a more commonly used mechanism to alleviate cap hits: void years.
The use of void years does not extend the contract but creates placeholder years for the prorated bonus.
While void years provide more flexibility in the short term, whenever the contract voids, the player will become a free agent and the remaining bonus accelerates onto the current cap as dead money.
For Sieler ($2.8 million in potential dead money in 2027), Smythe ($1.2 million in 2026) and Ingold ($830,000 in 2027), the dead-money hit is rather negligible. But Ramsey could carry $18.5 million in dead money in 2026 if his contract isn’t extended.
NFL Network also reported that left tackle Terron Armstead’s reworked deal is done, which should provide the Dolphins with more cap savings.
Entering Tuesday, and before the Barrett deal, the Dolphins had about $3 million in cap space. This didn’t include the savings from Armstead’s reworked contract, deals from Monday’s reported agreements and new deals for tight end Jonnu Smith,
defensive backs Nik Needham and Elijah Campbell and offensive lineman Robert Jones.
Deals with players whose contracts expired
cannot be finalized until the start of the new league year.