2026 Positional Spending Rankings: Safeties

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To help pass the time from now until the start of training camp, we’ll be looking at where every team ranks in positional spending. Next we have safeties. The league’s top safeties have done a better job of cashing in than several years ago when there was a tough ceiling on top of the market, and a solid middle class has also developed. However, this is still one of the positions teams turn to first when they need to cut costs and that’s reflected below. One note: rather than count dead money toward the positional groups, we will have it ranked separately in a post of its own. For example, Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa ‘s $55.4 million dead cap hit won’t count toward Miami’s quarterback spending, but it will be included in their league-leading $179 million dead cap figure. Here’s how the league’s safety rooms shake out from most expensive to least expensive: Resources: Salary information via Over The Cap Depth charts via OurLads Pro Football Focus grades 1 – Los Angeles Chargers: $40,199,652 Percentage of total cap: 13.35 percent 2025 rank: 1st Top cap hit: Derwin James , $24,606,495 (8.17 percent) Other notable cap hit: Elijah Molden , $7,916,666 (2.63 percent) PFF grade: 65.7 (15th) Starters: James*, Molden Depth: Tony Jefferson , Genesis Smith , RJ Mickens *safety/nickel 2 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $35,803,099 Percentage of total cap: 11.89 percent 2025 rank: 16th Top cap hit: Antoine Winfield Jr., $27,466,000 (9.12 percent) PFF grade: 70.1 (10th) Starters: Winfield, Tykee Smith Depth: Miles Killebrew , Rashad Wisdom 3 – Atlanta Falcons: $32,166,905 Percentage of total cap: 10.68 percent 2025 rank: 4th Top cap hit: Jessie Bates III, $24,770,000 (8.22 percent) PFF grade: 68.5 (12th) Starters: Bates, Xavier Watts Depth: Sydney Brown , Demarcco Hellams 4 – Denver Broncos: $28,316,665 Percentage of total cap: 9.4 percent 2025 rank: 7th Top cap hit: Talanoa Hufanga , 13,500,000 (4.48 percent) Other notable cap hit: Brandon Jones , $9,243,334 (3.07 percent) PFF grade: 67.6 (14th) Starters: Hufanga, Jones Depth: JL Skinner , Devon Key , Tycen Anderson 5 – New York Giants: $28,101,092 Percentage of total cap: 9.33 percent 2025 rank: 15th Top cap hit: Jevon Holland , $18,508,431 (6.14 percent) PFF grade: 57.8 (26th) Starters: Holland, Tyler Nubin Depth: Jason Pinnock , Ar’Darius Washington , Elijah Campbell 6 – Dallas Cowboys: $27,269,096 Percentage of total cap: 9.05 percent 2025 rank: 5th Top cap hit: Malik Hooker , $6,558,824 (2.18 percent) PFF grade: 65.1 (17th) Starters: Hooker, Jalen Thompson , Caleb Downs * Depth: P.J. Locke , Markquese Bell *safety/nickel 7 – Arizona Cardinals: $27,195,767 Percentage of total cap: 9.03 percent 2025 rank: 3rd Top cap hit: Budda Baker , $19,216,250 (6.38 percent) PFF grade: 55.5 (29th) Starters: Baker, Dadrion Taylor-Demerson Depth: Andrew Wingard , Kitan Crawford 8 – Carolina Panthers: $26,601,892 Percentage of total cap: 8.83 percent 2025 rank: 24th Top cap hit: Trevon Moehrig , $21,270,000 (7.06 percent) PFF grade: 62.4 (21st) Starters: Moehrig, Nick Scott Depth: Lathan Ransom , Zakee Wheatley 9 – Indianapolis Colts: $24,974,928 Percentage of total cap: 8.29 percent 2025 rank: 18th Top cap hit: Camryn Bynum , $15,010,000 (4.98 percent) PFF grade: 65.4 (16th) Starters: Bynum, A.J. Haulcy Depth: Juanyeh Thomas , Hunter Wohler 10 – Los Angeles Rams: $24,495,775 Percentage of total cap: 8.13 percent 2025 rank: 25th Top cap hit: Quentin Lake , $11,691,176 (3.88 percent) Other notable cap hit: Kamren Curl , $7…