Free agency is an exciting time of year for fans of big-spending teams, even if that high is typically fleeting. As we should all know by now, most of these deals are hollow and won’t last nearly as long as the time reported in the initial wave.
That doesn’t mean the contracts can’t have a lasting impact on the salary cap, though. The Giants, for example, have more than $11 million in dead money from free agent splurges of a previous regime (Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison). Including the Odell Beckham deal, they currently have more money in sunken costs than they do actual space under the cap.