Do NFL Teams Have to Pay Out Contracts When They Cut Players?

If you’ve ever wondered why a star can disappear from a roster and still see a paycheck, you’re not alone. The short answer is: it depends on what’s written in the contract. Most NFL deals have a mix of guaranteed and non‑guaranteed money, and only the guaranteed portion is usually owed if a team cuts a player.

What Counts as Guaranteed?

Guaranteed money is the part of a contract the player gets no matter what. It can come in three flavors: fully guaranteed for the life of the deal, guaranteed for injury only, or guaranteed up to a certain date. When a player is cut, the team still owes that guaranteed amount. For example, a rookie who signs a four‑year deal with $5 million guaranteed will still collect that $5 million even if he’s released after two years.

Non‑Guaranteed Money and Salary Cap Impact

Anything not guaranteed—like most base salaries, roster bonuses, or performance incentives—disappears when a player is cut. The team saves that money, but the cap still feels the hit from the guaranteed portion. The cap hit is the amount the team counts against its yearly salary limit, and it includes any remaining guaranteed money plus any prorated signing bonus.

Let’s break that down with a simple example. Suppose a player signs a five‑year contract with a $10 million signing bonus spread evenly over the deal (that’s $2 million per year on the cap) and a $3 million base salary each year, but only the signing bonus is guaranteed. If the team cuts the player after year two, they stop paying the $3 million base salary for the remaining three years, but the $2 million per year from the signing bonus still counts on the cap for years three, four, and five.

That’s why you’ll sometimes see a team release a player to free up cash, yet the cap still shows a “dead money” line. The dead money is the guaranteed portion that still counts against the cap even though the player isn’t on the roster.

One more twist: “guaranteed for injury” clauses. If a player gets hurt, the team must pay the guaranteed portion, but if the player is healthy and gets cut, they only owe the non‑guaranteed money. Teams love these clauses because they protect them from paying up for players who can’t play.

So, do teams have to pay out contracts of cut players? Only the guaranteed bits. The rest disappears, and the team can reallocate that cash to sign other talent. The only downside is the lingering cap hit from whatever guaranteed money was left.

Understanding these details helps fans make sense of roster moves that seem mysterious at first. When you see a headline about a big name being cut, remember it’s not always a huge financial blow for the team—just the guaranteed portion stays on the books.

Bottom line: guaranteed money sticks, non‑guaranteed money doesn’t. This balance lets teams stay flexible while still rewarding players for committing to the league. If you keep an eye on the guaranteed figures in a contract, you’ll always know what the team owes if they decide to cut a player.