The NFL deals returning the least per dollar — high salaries carrying a weak Contract Value Index grade.
Every NFL front office is gambling against the cap. The contracts on this page are the bets that look the worst right now: above-market money tied to one of the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades on the board.
We are not measuring talent — we are measuring the gap between pay and production. A genuine star can still surface here if the dollars have outrun what he is giving back, because in a hard-cap league a heavy deal that underdelivers is a roster anchor, not just a line item.
Read it as a watchlist. These are the deals most likely to force a restructure, a cut-with-dead-money, or an awkward trade conversation before their term is up.
Across the 16 most overpaid NFL contracts on the board, teams have committed about $126.1M per year for the weakest returns our grading sees, with DT the position most often flagged.
Salary figures are average annual value. Cuts and releases are excluded — the Contract Value Index is not a valid signal on a non-contract move. Grades reflect value to the team, not raw talent.
Above-median NFL salaries paired with the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades. Ranked by how far the grade falls, then by the size of the commitment.
| # | Player | Avg / Yr | CVI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trent WilliamsOT · San Francisco 49ers | $25.8M | F F |
| 2 | Trey LanceQB · Los Angeles Chargers | $6.8M | F F |
| 3 | Trey LanceQB · Los Angeles Chargers | $6.8M | F F |
| 4 |
A contract lands here when a team is paying above-median money for one of the weakest Contract Value Index (CVI) grades on the board — a lot spent for light return. It is not a verdict on the player’s talent; a great player on a market-resetting deal can still grade as overpaid if the dollars outrun the value. Read the full methodology.
| $3.5M |
F F |
| 5 | Ryan Van DemarkT · Minnesota Vikings | $3.5M | F F |
| 6 | Dyami BrownWR · Washington Commanders | $3.0M | F F |
| 7 | Denzel PerrymanLB · Los Angeles Chargers | $2.8M | F F |
| 8 | LaCale LondonDT · Atlanta Falcons | $2.8M | F F |
| 9 | Solomon ThomasDL · Tennessee Titans | $3.0M | D- D- |
| 10 | Alec AndersonOL · Buffalo Bills | $2.5M | D D |
| 11 | Darnell MooneyWR · New York Giants | $10.0M | D+ D+ |
| 12 | Thomas BookerDT · Las Vegas Raiders | $3.7M | D+ D+ |
| 13 | Jeremy ReavesS · Washington Commanders | $3.4M | D+ D+ |
| 14 | Rasheed WalkerOT · Carolina Panthers | $40.0M | C- C- |
| 15 | Neville GallimoreDT · Chicago Bears | $5.0M | C- C- |
| 16 | Dalton RisnerG · Cincinnati Bengals | $3.7M | C- C- |