Which team has the healthiest roster construction in 2026?

About this episode

<p>Do you remember the chart your teacher used in health class to show that 50% of your food should be fruits and vegetables? Maybe you also remember that little tiny sliver showing fatty or sugary foods. Well, think of Jaxon Smith-Njigba's four-year, $168.6 million contract as a bowl of ice cream and Bo Nix's four-year, $18.6 million rookie contract as a plate of broccoli. The ice cream tastes great, but you'd feel pretty sluggish if you didn't have a whole bunch of broccoli to go with it. On this episode of The Athletic Football Show, Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen discuss which NFL teams are best balancing indulgent superstar extensions with vitamin-packed rookie contracts.</p><br><p>0:00 Welcome to the show</p><p>5:05 Los Angeles Rams</p><p>10:51 Philadelphia Eagles</p><p>15:55 New England Patriots</p><p>21:15 Chicago Bears</p><p>26:55 Seattle Seahawks</p><p>31:25 Detroit Lions</p><p>35:22 Los Angeles Chargers</p><p>38:52 Cleveland Browns</p><p>42:10 Houston Texans</p><p>43:39 Green Bay Packers</p><p>47:20 Dallas Cowboys</p><p>48:35 Jacksonville Jaguars</p><p>50:37 Denver Broncos</p><p>55:16 Carolina Panthers</p><p>58:44 Tennessee Titans</p><p>1:03:18 Buffalo Bills</p><p>1:07:11 Washington Commanders</p><br><p>Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow</p><br><p>Host: Robert Mays</p><p>Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman</p><p>Executive Producer: Michael Beller</p><p>Senior Producer: Katy Duffy</p><p>Social Producer: Scott Krinch</p><br><p>Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social</p><p>Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social</p><p>Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social</p><p>Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays</p><p>Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_</p><br><p>Theme song: Haunted</p><p>Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs</p><p>Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>