2026 Positional Spending Rankings: Tight Ends

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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. Today: tight ends. They might be the league’s trendiest position right now. Whether it’s as one half of the American wedding of the century or as the cutting edge of the league’s offensive schematic meta, tight ends are being sought after. Despite their best promotional efforts, however, tight ends haven’t quite seen that demand follow when it comes to salary. They lag behind every other position outside of running back, although that’s partially because teams roster more players at most of the other positions. 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 tight end 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 – Minnesota Vikings: $29,379,622 Percentage of total cap: 9.75 percent 2025 rank: 3rd Top cap hit: T.J. Hockenson , $15,605,000 (5.18 percent) Other notable cap hits: Josh Oliver , $9,934,000 (3.3 percent) PFF grade: 64.2 (14th) Depth chart: Hockenson, Oliver, Benjamin Yurosek 2 – Atlanta Falcons: $25,788,333 Percentage of total cap: 8.56 percent 2025 rank: 11th Top cap hit: Kyle Pitts , $15,045,000 (5 percent) PFF grade: 65.1 (11th) Depth chart: Pitts, Austin Hooper , Charlie Woerner 3 – Denver Broncos: $23,196,647 Percentage of total cap: 7.7 percent 2025 rank: 18th Top cap hit: Evan Engram , $14,136,666 (4.69 percent) PFF grade: 54.6 (31st) Depth chart: Engram, Adam Trautman , Nate Adkins , Justin Joly 4 – San Francisco 49ers: $22,763,695 Percentage of total cap: 7.56 percent 2025 rank: 9th Top cap hit: George Kittle , $14,147,529 (4.7 percent) PFF grade: 75.8 (1st) Depth chart: Kittle, Jake Tonges , Luke Farrell , Brayden Willis 5 – Los Angeles Rams: $21,688,775 Percentage of total cap: 7.2 percent 2025 rank: 5th Top cap hit: Colby Parkinson , $9,083,334 (3.02 percent) PFF grade: 67.6 (6th) Depth chart: Parkinson, Terrance Ferguson , Davis Allen , Max Klare , Tyler Higbee 6 – New England Patriots: $20,402,871 Percentage of total cap: 6.77 percent 2025 rank: 8th Top cap hit: Hunter Henry , $11,750,000 (3.9 percent) PFF grade: 63.2 (16th) Depth chart: Henry, Eli Raridon , CJ Dippre 7 – Philadelphia Eagles: $18,663,781 Percentage of total cap: 6.2 percent 2025 rank: 14th Top cap hit: Dallas Goedert , $10,230,880 (3.4 percent) PFF grade: 59.2 (24th) Depth chart: Goedert, Eli Stowers , Johnny Mundt , Grant Calcaterra , Stone Smartt , Cameron Latu 8 – Chicago Bears: $17,751,138 Percentage of total cap: 5.89 percent 2025 rank: 6th Top cap hit: Cole Kmet , $7,775,000 (2.58 percent) Other notable cap hit: Colston Loveland , $6,053,638 (2.01 percent) PFF grade: 73.5 (2nd) Depth chart: Loveland, Kmet, Sam Roush 9 – Houston Texans: $17,648,677 Percentage of total cap: 5.86 percent 2025 rank: 12th Top cap hit: Dalton Schultz , $9,549,000 (3.17 percent) PFF grade: 59.9 (22nd) Depth chart: Schultz, Cade Stover , Marlin Klein , Foster Moreau , Brevin Jordan 10 – Kansas City Chiefs: $16,670,488 Percentage of total cap: 5.53 percent 2025 rank: 2nd Top cap hit: Noah Gray , $6,970,000 (2.31 percent) Other notable…