The Atlanta Falcons’ salary cap hits for 2026 are topped by Chris Lindstrom, who leads Atlanta with a cap hit of $26.25 million, 8.72% of the Falcons’ cap this season.
The NFL Salary Cap for the 2026 season rose to an all-time high of $301.2 million. This is an increase of $22 million from the 2025 season. The NFL’s salary cap has increased by nearly $46 million in the last two seasons.
The salary cap hit is a combination of salary, signing bonus money, and roster and workout bonuses. Salary counts in the year it was paid. Roster and workout bonuses count for the season they are earned. Signing bonuses can be divided equally among the years of the contract, up to five years. A big downfall of this bonus money is that if a player is waived or traded, any remaining bonus money that has not yet counted against the cap immediately accelerates to the team’s cap for the current season. This is commonly referred to as ‘dead money.’
Top Atlanta Falcons Salary Cap Hits in 2026
(Falcons among the NFL’s top 500 in 2026 salary)
| NAME | TEAM | Position | Salary Cap Hit | % of Cap ($301.2M) |
| Chris Lindstrom | Atlanta Falcons | Guard | $26,250,000 | 8.72% |
| Jessie Bates III | Atlanta Falcons | Safety | $24,770,000 | 8.22% |
| Jake Matthews | Atlanta Falcons | Left Tackle | $16,773,713 | 5.57% |
| A.J. Terrell | Atlanta Falcons | Cornerback | $13,500,000 | 4.48% |
| Divine Deablo | Atlanta Falcons | Inside Linebacker | $8,920,000 | 2.96% |
| Drake London | Atlanta Falcons | Wide Receiver | $7,996,200 | 2.65% |
| Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons | Running Back | $6,986,809 | 2.32% |
| Michael Penix Jr. | Atlanta Falcons | Quarterback | $6,240,719 | 2.07% |
| Ryan Neuzil | Atlanta Falcons | Center | $6,225,000 | 2.07% |
| Charlie Woerner | Atlanta Falcons | Tight End | $5,750,000 | 1.91% |
| Mike Hughes | Atlanta Falcons | Cornerback | $5,466,667 | 1.81% |
| Jahan Dotson | Atlanta Falcons | Wide Receiver | $5,000,000 | 1.66% |
| Matthew Bergeron | Atlanta Falcons | Guard | $4,806,451 | 1.60% |
| Jalon Walker | Atlanta Falcons | EDGE/Outside Linebacker | $4,673,266 | 1.55% |
| Jawaan Taylor | Atlanta Falcons | Right Tackle | $4,625,000 | 1.54% |
| Kyle Pitts | Atlanta Falcons | Tight End | $4,622,000 | 1.53% |
The Falcons have 15 players among the NFL’s 500 largest salary cap hits for 2026. The Falcons are top-heavy with money invested in offense, as ten of the 15 players are on the offensive side of the ball. The Falcons also have Tua Tagovailoa, who Atlanta only owes $1.2 million this season, but counts on the Dolphins’ books for a cap hit of over $56 million.
Drake London, who recently signed a contract extension, has a salary cap hit of just under $8 million for this season, but will count nearly $53 million on the cap in 2031. Bijan Robinson, still in his rookie deal, has a cap hit of just under $7 million. This jumps to over $11 million next season, which could be modified when Robinson inks a likely contract extension. Kyle Pitts has a cap hit of only $4.6 million, but carries massive dead cap hits of $36 million and $31.3 million for 2026 and 2027, respectively.
Questions loom for the Falcons, for sure. In addition to wondering if Pitts should stay or go, and the likely choice to ink Robinson, Atlanta has huge issues at quarterback. Do they keep Michael Penix Jr and/or Tua Tagovailoa beyond this season? Cut ties with both and use the cap savings to find a quarterback in the draft or free agency? Trade for someone like J.J. McCarthy?
The biggest question mark, though, is what about Jessie Bates? If Bates is cut after the season, he would have a cap hit of just $7.5 million next season, which can be spread across three seasons. Would Atlanta want to keep the standout safety around, though, on a team-friendly contract for a few more seasons? Bates hasn’t shown signs of wearing down yet, but after the season, Atlanta will have a big decision to make.
- 2017: $167.0 million
- 2018: $177.2 million
- 2019: $188.2 million
- 2020: $198.2 million
- 2021: $182.5 million ( COVID)
- 2022: $208.2 million
- 2023: $224.8 million
- 2024: $255.4 million
- 2025: $279.2 million
- 2026: $301.2 million
Top Ten Atlanta Falcons Salary Cap Hits: Total Guaranteed Money
|
Total Guaranteed
|
|
| Drake London | $99,871,000 |
| A.J. Terrell | $65,800,000 |
| Chris Lindstrom | $48,202,000 |
| Jake Matthews | $38,000,000 |
| Jessie Bates III | $36,000,000 |
| Kyle Pitts | $36,000,000 |
| Michael Penix Jr. | $22,882,636 |
| Bijan Robinson | $21,958,535 |
| Jalon Walker | $20,562,370 |
| James Pearce Jr. | $16,778,784 |
