7 Lions contracts automatically void, creating millions in dead cap

On Friday, the contracts of 7 Detroit Lions players automatically void, which will create over $14 million in dead cap.

On Friday—five days after the Super Bowl—the contracts of seven different Detroit Lions players will automatically void. This was expected, as the Lions used 2024 as an automatically voiding year to help spread the cap hit of individual contracts across multiple years. (Note: If you want to see how a voided year works, check out our look at Emmanuel Moseley’s contract from last year.)

The following players’ contracts will void on Friday: QB Teddy Bridgewater, G Graham Glasgow, G Halapoulivaati Vaitai, EDGE Charles Harris, EDGE Romeo Okwara, CB Emmanuel Moseley, S C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

To be clear, just because these players’ contracts will be void does not mean they are now free to sign anywhere. They will become unrestricted free agents at the start of the new league year (March 13), just like any other player on an expiring contract. And just like those players, these voided contract players can currently negotiate with the Lions on a new contract (and sign, if desired). But this dead cap was always going to be on the books for 2024, even if Detroit agrees to re-sign any of them this year. It cannot be removed or altered.

Here’s a look at the total of each player’s cap hit that will be on the books regardless of whether they return or not:

• Teddy Bridgewater — Dead cap: $500,000
• Graham Glasgow — Dead cap: $1,470,000
• Halapoulivaati Vaitai — Dead cap: $3,843,195
• Charles Harris — Dead cap: $1,988,334
• Romeo Okwara — Dead cap: $3,500,000
• Emmanuel Moseley — Dead cap: $1,000,000
• C.J. Gardner-Johnson — Dead cap: $2,000,000

Add it all together, and these seven players will account for $14,301,529 in dead cap for the 2024 season. But, again, these are cap hits that general manager Brad Holmes was expecting and factored into his budgeting for the upcoming offseason.