Alex Cappa Earned a Sizeable Salary During His Time with the Cincinnati Bengals
On March 3, 2025, the Cincinnati Bengals released Alex Cappa.
Published March 3 2025, 4:50 p.m. ET
Professional football player Alex Cappa kicked off his NFL career in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, signing a multi-million dollar, four-year contract. During his time with the Bucs, he earned a Super Bowl ring for the 2020 season.
In March 2022, Alex signed a major deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. However, on March 3, 2025, the Bengals parted ways with him.
The guard was about to enter the final year of his contract, which came with a pretty hefty annual salary. Here's everything you need to know about it!
Alex Cappa earned a decent salary with the Bengals.
For starters, when Alex Cappa signed a four-year deal with the Bengals in 2022, it was valued at $35 million. Doing the math, that breaks down to an annual salary of $8.75 million.
This substantial figure obviously reflects the team's commitment to the experienced offensive guard — but also highlights the financial decisions the Bengals now have to make moving forward.
Releasing Alex Cappa is just one of the Bengals' cap-saving moves this offseason.
With Alex Cappa's release on Monday, March 3, the Cincinnati Bengals have significantly cleared more room in their salary cap, which is crucial for their upcoming financial decisions.
This move also provides the team with even more flexibility, especially as they focus on securing new contracts for three of their star players: Wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, along with defensive end Trey Hendrickson, all of whom are looking for new contracts this offseason.
According to Roster Management System via ESPN, the Bengals have now freed up an additional $17.6 million in cap space. As of March 3, the team had $5.9 million in leftover cap room, which will carry over into the new league year set to begin on March 12. This extra flexibility gives the Bengals more maneuverability as they prepare to secure their future stars while staying within the salary cap.
However, this release is just one of several cap-saving moves the Bengals are expected to make. In fact, Alex Cappa is the second notable player the team has parted ways with recently. The Bengals also released defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, which cleared an additional $9.6 million in cap space.
According to The Athletic reporter Paul Dehner Jr., the Bengals are actually planning a flurry of roster moves before free agency kicks off. The goal is to restructure their financial commitments and set the stage for key contract extensions for their superstar trio.
Paul Dehner Jr. also pointed out that other moves are on the horizon, particularly those driven by a mix of aging players and large salaries. These changes are set to help support the team's shift toward a younger, more dynamic roster, which will be a central focus under new defensive coordinator Al Golden.
"There will be more and those are lining up to jump-start the necessary reallocation of resources that's the key to their offseason puzzle," Paul said. "Others, generated from a combination of age and salary, will symbol the youth movement placed into the lap of new defensive coordinator Al Golden on defense."