New York Jets Salaries: Cap Space, Player Payroll, Dead Money

New York Jets salaries during the 2023 NFL offseason revolved around one idea and a singular man: Aaron Rodgers.

Incredibly—in spite of the Rodgers acquisition—the New York Jets have over $15 million in cap space prior to the start of the 2023 season.

Aaron Rodgers Gives Back, Jets Sign Dalvin Cook

Aaron Rodgers giving up an incredible percentage of what was owed to him helped the Jets clear space. It also helped Joe Douglas sign Dalvin Cook, who will help Breece Hall during the early stages of the 2023 NFL season.

2023 NY Jets Offseason

Acquiring Aaron Rodgers from the Green Bay Packers was the first step; the other critical piece to the puzzle showcased his massive contract—which the future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback had no problem reworking for the benefit of the squad.

Counting as a paltry $1.165 million against the cap in 2023—the bare minimum possible—the bulk of Rodgers’s deal was converted from an option bonus into a 2024 base salary (prior to the trade via the Green Bay Packers). That number is around a monstrous $58.3 million.

So, although the Jets have Rodgers on the cheap right now, the 2024 season will feature a much more expensive player at quarterback. It’s why Joe Douglas currently has $21.459 million (top 51 players) to work with under the cap.

Understanding just how flexible Rodgers’s situation would be is what allowed the Jets to sign the likes of Allen Lazard, Quinton Jefferson, and a plethora of offensive line depth, including the re-signing of Duane Brown, in free agency.

2022 NY Jets Offseason

featured a salary cap situation that left them with around $47.649 million to play with this past offseason. After their initial string of major signings—Laken Tomlinson, C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Conklin, D.J. Reed, Jordan Whitehead and others—the Jets had around $4.2 million in cap space remaining.

The Jets left themselves with under $5 million of cap space to play with during the 2022 NFL regular season—which was mainly due to a result of an essential left tackle signing and veteran restructuring.

Once the Jets signed veteran left tackle Duane Brown to a two-year, $22 million deal, the team is left with under $1 million in total cap space, per Spotrac. However, restructuring C.J. Mosley’s contract freed up a bit more space for the player payroll.

After spending a good amount of money on free agents in 2021, general manager Joe Douglas headed into the 2022 offseason with plenty of holes to fill.

Who the Jets targeted this offseason was certainly interesting, position-wise. Adding two solid tight ends, two defensive backs and a Pro Bowl offensive lineman will certainly help the depth chart.

In terms of in-house free agents, New York elected to re-sign Braxton Berrios but opted to let Marcus Maye walk.

New York Jets salaries were a bit of a mystery once the 2021 NFL season concluded. It’s not that the New York Jets‘ salary cap situation was unknown; but due to general manager Joe Douglas‘s conservative free-agent approach, especially evidenced by his first two offseasons, few truly know what to expect moving forward.

Carl Lawson’s cap hit of $15.33 topped the Jets’ salary list in 2022. One year later—at the current time (2023 season)—it’s linebacker C.J. Mosley who represents the top Jets cap hit ($21.476 million).

Considering the team’s youth, the salary situation will be all about the future. Having so many young drafted kids developing at the same time will hopefully lead to a great young nucleus that’s coupled with tough financial decisions down the road.

Not until the Jets officially turn the corner, and know which players are the true keepers, will the future of the cap situation and long-term investment plan truly crystalize. Aaron Rodgers’s flexible efforts in the contract department surely help the New York Jets get to where they plan to travel.

*All of Jets X-Factor’s New York Jets salary information comes via Spotrac.