2026 Positional Spending: Wide Receivers

Player mentions

Article text

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 up, we have wide receivers. Salaries for this position have exploded in the last several years, more than any other position aside from quarterback and possibly edge rusher. NFL teams are making huge investments in receivers and it’s not uncommon to see teams paying big money to multiple players at the position. 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 receiver rooms shake out from most expensive to least expensive: Resources: Salary information via Over The Cap Depth charts via OurLads Pro Football Focus grades (average of 3 starters) 1 – Cincinnati Bengals: $65,498,349 Percentage of total cap: 21.75 percent 2025 rank: 1st Top cap hit: Tee Higgins , $26,514,706 (8.8 percent) Other notable cap hit: Ja’Marr Chase , $26,171,176 (8.69 percent) PFF grade: 74.6 (7th) 2 – Dallas Cowboys: $61,776,205 Percentage of total cap: 20.51 percent 2025 rank: 10th Top cap hit: George Pickens , $27,298,000 (9.06 percent) Other notable cap hit: CeeDee Lamb , $19,654,314 (6.53 percent) PFF grade: 72.4 (12th) 3 – Detroit Lions: $52,604,180 Percentage of total cap: 17.46 percent 2025 rank: 9th Top cap hit: Amon-Ra St. Brown , $33,110,000 (10.99 percent) Other notable cap hit: Jameson Williams , $8,270,600 (2.75 percent) PFF grade: 76.5 (5th) 4 – Pittsburgh Steelers: $51,922,509 Percentage of total cap: 17.24 percent 2025 rank: 21st Top cap hit: D.K. Metcalf , $31,000,000 (10.29 percent) Other notable cap hit: Michael Pittman Jr. , $8,866,666 (2.94 percent) PFF grade: 67.1 (21st) 5 – Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $46,468,077 Percentage of total cap: 15.43 percent 2025 rank: 2nd Top cap hit: Chris Godwin , $33,683,000 (11.18 percent) PFF grade: 67.5 (20th) 6 – Tennessee Titans: $46,172,282 Percentage of total cap: 15.33 percent 2025 rank: 3rd Top cap hit: Calvin Ridley , 15,200,000 (5.05 percent) Other notable cap hit: Wan’Dale Robinson , $11,270,000 (3.74 percent) PFF grade: 65.6 (28th) 7 – Minnesota Vikings: $45,547,196 Percentage of total cap: 15.12 percent 2025 rank: 13th Top cap hit: Justin Jefferson , $21,218,850 (7.04 percent) PFF grade: 70.8 (14th) 8 – Seattle Seahawks: $44,967,063 Percentage of total cap: 14.93 percent 2025 rank: 23rd Top cap hit: Cooper Kupp , $17,470,000 (5.8 percent) Other notable cap hit: Jaxon Smith-Njigba , $10,371,329 (3.44 percent), Rashid Shaheed , $7,000,000 (2.32 percent) PFF grade: 77.5 (4th) 9 – New York Giants: $42,379,440 Percentage of total cap: 14.07 percent 2025 rank: 18th Top cap hit: Darius Slayton , $15,911,770 (5.28 percent) Other notable cap hit: Malik Nabers , $7,965,750 (2.64 percent) PFF grade: 52.5 (32nd) 10 – Los Angeles Rams: $41,728,787 Percentage of total cap: 13.85 percent 2025 rank: 15th Top cap hit: Davante Adams , $28,000,000 (9.30 percent) Other notable cap hit: Puka Nacua , $5,828,245 (1.94 percent) PFF grade: 79.0 (1st) 11 – Buffalo Bills: $38,152,216 Percentage of total cap: 12.67 percent 2025 rank: 17th Top cap hit: Josh Palmer , $11,750,000 (3.9 percent) Other notable cap hits: D.J. Moore , $6,752,000 (2.24 percent), Khalil Shakir , $6,792,000 (2.25 percent) PFF grade…