Packers exploit salary cap loophole to unlock extra space while Jaire Alexander remains on the roster for now

According to independent cap analyst Ken Ingalls, the Packers received insurance policy proceeds for the 10 games the cornerback missed in 2024 because of injury. That means Green Bay will have $358,234 credited back on their salary cap for 2025—last year, Alexander counted $23.494 million against the cap.

The amount may seem insignificant at first glance, but it's around 10% of what the Packers will need to sign their entire rookie class.

How it works

Teams in the NFL can have insurance policy in the case players get injured. It's a salary cap loophole, because the money invested in these policies don't count towards the cap, but when the team receives the money, the cap spending is credited back.

It's not the entire amount based on the games Alexander lost, but at least a part of it based on the structure of the policy. The Packers will receive $358,234 in cash, so that is also credited for cap purposes.

Future outlook

The Packers still have Jaire under contract for two more seasons, but it's unlikely that he will stay for much longer. Brian Gutekunst's priority at this point is to trade him away and get some type of compensation, and he's willing to wait because there's no contract trigger.

If Alexander is traded or cut after June 1st, or released now with a post-June 1st designation, the cap savings in 2025 will be even higher—$17.117 million. However, there would still be $10.241 million in dead money next year. Still, the Packers would save $17.135 million against the cap in 2026 and $2.364 million in 2027 (void year).

Before the proceeding of the injury policy, the Packers had $31.333 million in available cap space. That's more than enough to sign the entire rookie class and operate throughout the season. The Packers will probably want to roll over something to 2026, because the cap situation a year from now won't be so clean. But getting something back after Jaire missed so much time last year at least helps to mitigate the issue a little bit.