How position spending changed between the two offseasons — Charts Lab
This table shows the contract data from the NFL.com free agency trackers for both years, grouped by position. Only deals with reported dollar amounts are included in the averages. No Corner deals were made in 2025 so there's a gap in the each graph because of that.
| Position | 2025 Deals | 2025 Avg Total ($M) | 2025 Avg APY ($M) | 2025 Top Deal ($M) | 2026 Deals | 2026 Avg Total ($M) | 2026 Avg APY ($M) | 2026 Top Deal ($M) | APY Change |
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This bar chart puts the two years side by side so you can quickly see which positions got more expensive or cheaper. Edge rushers went up in 2026, mainly because of Trey Hendrickson's $112M deal in Baltimore. The center position jumped from almost nothing in 2025 to a huge spending category in 2026 (Tyler Linderbaum got $81M). QB dropped, but that's mostly because Josh Allen's $330M deal in 2025 made that year's average way higher than normal and most QB's in free agency this year were mid tier.
Fig. 1 — Average per-year contract value (APY) in millions, by position.
Instead of averages, this chart looks at the single biggest deal at each position and draws a smooth line through them. In 2025 (red), there's a huge spike at QB because of Josh Allen's $330M deal. The 2026 line (blue) is much flatter and more spread out, with no deal over $115M but lots of positions in the $60–112M range. Where the blue line goes above the red line, that position's top contract got bigger in 2026 like running backs, guards, and centers. A big highlight here is Jaxon Smith-Njigba's contract which is the red 161 mil which completely redefines the value of WR's and will set a precent for other star WR's contract in the years to come.
Fig. 2 — Largest reported contract at each position. Where blue is above red, the position ceiling grew in 2026.
A radar chart is good for seeing the overall "shape" of spending and how money is spread across different defensive positions. In 2025 (red), teams spent a lot on cornerbacks and edge rushers but not as much on linebackers and safeties. In 2026 (blue), the shape is more even and linebacker spending went way up, safety spending increased, and defensive line got a bump too. A more even shape means teams were investing across all levels of the defense, not just the flashy positions.
Fig. 3 — Average APY in millions across defensive positions. A bigger, rounder shape = more balanced spending.