Which NFL Teams Most Efficiently Allocate Salary Among Players?

The NFL is filled with big-name stars. But which names fill up the budget on their teams the most?

A new report by Doc’s Sports analyzed NFL salary data from 2025 and the overall team salary cap. We used winning percentage and the top five players’ salaries to score which teams are the most efficient on their books. The report uses data from the NFL and the publicly accessible salary cap.

Key Takeaways

Lions are ranked #1, with the best Salary Utilization Efficiency score.
Bengals and Raiders spend the largest percentage of salaries on the top five players, 57.5% and 52.65% respectively.
Titans and Giants have the lowest Salary Utilization Efficiency scores of 23.69% and 24.14% respectively.
Chargers rank #1 for spending the most on their top player, totaling 19.65% for Justin Herbert.

Ranking Teams by Salary Utilization Efficiency

NFL teams in 2025, on average, paid over 13% of their overall salary to their top player. The top six teams in wins since 2024 fall above that average at 13.2%, 14.7%, 13.9%, 15.7%, 19.7%, and 17.2%, respectively.

The Bengals have the highest proportion of salary being allocated to their top five players, yet are bottom 9th in the NFL in wins.

The second-highest salary allocation team, the Las Vegas Raiders, also rank in the bottom four winning teams.

The Salary Utilization Efficiency score measures the winning and success of a team in relation to their salary allocation across their top five players.

Salary Allocation to Total Points

The Detroit Lions scored as the highest Salary Utilization Efficiency score, and they also scored the most points from 2024 to the 2025 season.

Teams with a higher Salary Utilization Efficiency score score more points on average. The Tennessee Titans, which had the lowest Salary Utilization Efficiency score, had the second-fewest points scored in the 2025 NFL season.

Methodology

Source: NFL

Cleaning and standardization: We standardized categories based on the variables: NFL player salaries, winning percentage, and total points scored. We utilized a standardization scoring system by finding the percent makeup of every NFL team and their salary allocations.

To create the Salary Utilization Efficiency score, we used the NFL salary data and the winning percentage variables. The formula is:

Salary Utilization Efficiency Score = (Winning Percentage × 0.7) + (Salary to Top 5 Players × 0.3)

Limitations

Specific situations such as injuries, trades, and contract obligations may play a role in winning percentage that may not affect salary. These factors can influence both performance and roster decisions in ways not fully captured by the Salary Utilization Efficiency score.

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Pick:	OVER 49.5
Start:	November 15, 2025 @ 3:30 PM
Expert:	Doc's Sports

Analysis:

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #401 Over 49.5 in Iowa Hawkeyes @ Southern Cal Trojans (3:30p.m., Saturday, November 15 BTN) Iowa did not score many points last week hosting Oregon, but weather played a major role in that game. USC is a much better team at home and I expect them to have their way in this game scoring points. For Iowa to stay competitive, they must match them in scoring. Iowa has not been as inept on offense this season, as they have scored at least 24 points in their 3 games prior to last week. We expect both teams to reach the twenties in points and that should put us in good shape to collect with the over. Do not miss out on Doc’s Sports Weekend Card featuring top plays in NBA, College Hoops, NHL, and CFL. Sign-up now and let 54 years of handicapping experience work for you. Read More Read Less