I wanted to clarify a few things for my readers regarding the 2010 Restricted Free Agents for the Steelers. First off, the Steelers have 6 restricted free agents and 1 Exclusive Rights Free Agent. The Exclusive Rights player is linebacker Patrick Bailey and he only has 2 accrued seasons, meaning the Steelers can keep him by offering him the minimum salary for a 3rd year player and he must accept the offer. The other Restricted Free Agents are then gauged by their accrued seasons. An accrued season is defined by a player having 6 or more regular-season games on a club’s active/inactive roster, reserved-injured or physically unable to perform lists. The Steelers have 1 Restricted Free Agent with 4 accrued seasons being tackle Willie Colon and 5 Restricted Free Agent with 3 accrued seasons.
| POS | PLAYER | DRAFTED | STATUS | SEASONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | Patrick Bailey | 2008 Undrafted | EFA | 2 |
| T | Willie Colon | 2006 Round 4 | RFA | 4 |
| RB | Carey Davis | 2004 Undrafted | RFA | 3 |
| CB | William Gay | 2007 Round 5 | RFA | 3 |
| P | Daniel Sepulveda | 2007 Round 4 | RFA | 3 |
| TE | Matt Spaeth | 2007 Round 3 | RFA | 3 |
| G | Darnell Stapleton | 2007 Undrafted | RFA | 3 |
The chart below shows the amounts the Steelers can tender these players for seasons accrued and the compensation received if the player signs elsewhere for more money. Take for example, Colon. Should the Steelers place the highest tender on him, they would have to pay him $3,168,000 in 2010. Should another team offer Colon a better deal and sign him, the Steelers would receive that teams 1st and 3rd round draft picks in 2011 as compensation. If the player was undrafted like Darnell Stapleton and the Steelers tendered him at the lowest level of $1,101,000 a season. The Steelers would have the right to match any higher offer made by another team or receive no compensation as Stapleton went undrafted.
| Player with FOUR Accrued Seasons | |
|---|---|
| Tender amount | Compensation required |
| $3,168,000* | First- and third-round draft picks |
| $2,521,000* | First-round draft pick |
| $1,759,000* | Second-round draft pick |
| $1,176,000* | Determined by RFA\’s original draft status |
| *or 110% of player’s 2009 Paragraph 5 Salary, whichever is greater |
| Player with THREE Accrued Seasons | |
|---|---|
| Tender amount | Compensation required |
| $3,043,000* | First- and third-round draft picks |
| $2,396,000* | First-round draft pick |
| $1,684,000* | Second-round draft pick |
| $1,101,000* | Determined by RFA\’s original draft status |
| *or 110% of player’s 2009 Paragraph 5 Salary, whichever is greater |
