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Tyreek Hill may have played his last game for the Miami Dolphins. Last week, Hill was badly injured trying to make a catch and is out for the rest of the season. His future is now murky at best because, as always with sports, it comes down to the money.
After initially being traded to the Dolphins from the Chiefs for five draft picks back in 2022, Hill now has just one year left after this season on his three-year, $90 million contract. This doesn’t mean he’s actually owed $30 million, though — NFL teams often get creative with how they structure contracts. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Hill would count nearly $52 million against the salary cap in 2026. That would be the 11th highest salary in the league (Tua Tagovailoa lands at the seventh highest, but that’s a story for another day!) Luckily, the Dolphins have options.
Option 1: Keep Him As-Is
Hill is maybe the fastest and most agile player in the league. This “particular set of skills,” reminiscent of Liam Neeson’s in Taken, make him a nightmare for defenses. If the Dolphins want to keep those skills, the team can simply bring Hill back with no change to his gargantuan cap number. But $52 million is a staggering amount of money for a player coming off a serious injury.
Option 2: Keep Him with a Contract Extension
Contract extensions benefit not only the player; they also allow for the aforementioned creative accounting. In a scenario that reeks of Wall Street-style finance, the Dolphins can actually account for less by paying Hill more. Let’s say, for example, Hill agrees to a two-year, $60 million extension with an included $30 million signing bonus. His 2026 cap hit drops to around $40 million, while his 2027 and 2028 cap hits will come in around $37 million. With a rising salary cap each year, that is very doable if they want to keep him.
Option 3: Keep Him with a Pay Cut
Hill might wish to stay in Miami, agreeing to a lower salary for 2026 due to his injury. Instead of being released, Hill could accept a $10 million salary, instead of $30 million, dropping his cap hit to $32 million.
Option 4: Release Him Next Year
Hill no longer has any guaranteed money on his contract, meaning the Dolphins could release him without owing him another dollar. However, the accounting bill will come due on the salary cap, amounting to a little over $28 million. If the Dolphins choose this option rather than keep Hill (see option 1), they could save around $24 million.
Option 5: Designate him a “Post-June 1” Cut
The post-June 1 designation means that the Dolphins can account for part of his cap hit in 2026 and the rest in 2027. Now that $28 million cap hit drops to a more manageable $16 million in 2026, with the remainder, around $12 million, due in 2027. The one caveat is that the team cannot account for the cap savings until after June 1. Hill would be free to sign with any team immediately after his release.
Option 6: Trade Him
Trading Hill has the same financial impact as releasing him, depending on whether the trade occurs before or after June 1. Ideally, the Dolphins
could get something of value for him if his recovery is going well, but that might be a tough sell. The team acquiring him would owe him around $30 million in salary. Of course, that team could agree to a new contract with him that would lower his salary, but that’s their business. His trade value would be closer to that of a late-round draft pick and nowhere near what was initially paid to the Chiefs.
The Dolphins will owe Hill $5 million as of March 14, 2026. If they want to avoid that payment, they need to release or trade him before then. With a 1-4 record and growing uncertainty about next season, having Hill count against the cap while off the roster may sound bad, but it could help the Dolphins clear space for a future rebuild. Hill will be 32 next season, and the Dolphins have a big decision to make.
