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The Jacksonville Jaguars currently have the third-most cap space in the NFL, according to Over The Cap. This isn’t exactly news — the Jaguars haven’t had very many players worthy of those big second contracts and even with high-priced free agents, homegrown talent is where the cap space usually goes.
So where is the money going, exactly? Here’s a look at the 20 Jaguars players with the highest cap hits on the team.
Top 20 cap hits for the Jaguars in 2017
| Player | 2017 Cap Hit |
|---|---|
| Player | 2017 Cap Hit |
| Malik Jackson | $15,500,000 |
| Calais Campbell | $10,500,000 |
| Branden Albert | $8,900,000 |
| Barry Church | $8,000,000 |
| Allen Hurns | $7,000,000 |
| Blake Bortles | $6,571,983 |
| Jermey Parnell | $6,500,000 |
| Dante Fowler, Jr. | $6,406,429 |
| Tashaun Gipson | $6,300,000 |
| Paul Posluszny | $6,166,668 |
| Chris Ivory | $6,000,000 |
| A.J. Bouye | $5,468,750 |
| Jalen Ramsey | $5,307,045 |
| Leonard Fournette | $4,936,524 |
| Marcedes Lewis | $4,250,000 |
| Abry Jones | $4,000,000 |
| Chad Henne | $3,500,000 |
| Earl Watford | $2,625,000 |
| Stefan Charles | $2,125,000 |
| Lerentee McCray | $2,000,000 |
Observations
Three of the top 10 cap hits are defensive linemen. It’s a lucrative position and one the Jaguars have prioritized in the last two seasons. One would hope it pays off.
There are zero players drafted by the Jaguars on a second contract in the top 20. Even just three or four would make it so the team isn’t so far down the list in cap money spent. (Allen Hurns and Abry Jones were both undrafted free agents.)
And if you go down a little further, you’ll start to see where cap problems could begin to surface for the Jaguars.
Brandon Linder has a cap hit of $1,930,400.
Telvin Smith has a cap hit of $1,910,288.
Myles Jack has a cap hit of $1,439,645.
Allen Robinson has a cap hit of $1,117,095.
Yannick Ngakoue has a cap hit of $819,085.
These are all players who are making less than the guys they’re starting in front of. In a few years, the Jaguars should be a little closer to the middle in terms of cap space spent.
Lastly, if I counted former Jaguars players on this list, Julius Thomas ($3,600,000) and Jared Odrick ($2,200,000) would easily crack the top 20.