Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson said in August that 2026 would likely be his last year. After three games, he decided to retire now.
He has an absolute right to do so. No player should continue to play professional football if they no longer want to do so, regardless of the reason(s).
This decision nevertheless has financial consequences, for the Eagles and for Johnson. If he had retired after the season and the Eagles waited until after June 1 to deal him, Johnson would have counted $15.978 million against the cap in 2027 and $38.8 million in 2028. Now, he will count $54.778 million against the cap in 2027.
The Eagles will also have the prerogative to seek reimbursement of payments previously received by Johnson. It gets complicated; they can get back the unallocated signing bonus money and part of his $21.7 million 2026 option bonus (only half was paid). And the recovery of the amounts they are entitled to claim would be credited against the dead money charges.
First, the Eagles need to decide if they want to try to recoup money from a first-ballot Hall of Famer who has meant so much to the team. While the Lions did this with Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders and Hall of Fame wide receiver Calvin Johnson, the Eagles may choose not to alienate such an important player by asking him to return money.
Second, there is a way to refine the situation to theoretically delay the bulk of the cap charge until 2028. If, for example, they put him on the non-football injury/illness list for the remainder of the season and he officially retires after June 1, 2027, the Eagles will avoid taking on the $54.778 million liability in 2027.
The fact that the Eagles have yet to make a roster move with Johnson suggests they are coming up with a good strategy. The best thing might be to delay his retirement, agree not to seek reimbursement of the money he earned (without paying the $10.85 million owed on December 1) and refine the consequences of the cap to avoid a potential disaster in 2027.
Gn sports
