A reader emailed me on Thursday and asked what I thought the Pittsburgh Steelers might possibly receive in the form compensatory draft picks next offseason due to all the losses that they had this offseason. In order to venture a guess at this, you first have to look at the contracts signed by each and every free agent lost and signed prior to the cutoff date of June 1st.
Steelers Free Agent Loses:
WR Mike Wallace – Miami Dolphins – Signed a five year, $60 million contract that will pay him $12 million in 2013 and have an average base salary of $9.75 million.
CB Keenan Lewis – New Orleans Saints – Signed a five-year, $25.55 million contract that will pay him $7 million in 2013 and have an average base salary of $3.56 million.
RB Rashard Mendenhall – Arizona Cardinals – Signed a one-year, $2.5 million contract that will pay him $2.5 million-plus possible incentives in 2013 and have an average base salary of $2 million.
T Max Starks – San Diego Chargers – Signed a one-year, $1 million contract that will pay him $1 million-plus possible incentives in 2013 and have an average base salary of $1 million.
S Will Allen – Dallas Cowboys – Signed a one-year, $905,000 contract that will pay him $905,000 in 2013 and have an average base salary of $840,000.
S Ryan Mundy – New York Giants – Signed a one-year, $780,000 contract that will pay him $780,000 in 2013 and have an average base salary of $715,000.
Steelers Free Agent Additions:
QB Bruce Gradkowski – Cincinnati Bengals – Signed a three-year, $4.95 million contract that will pay him $1.85 million in 2013 and have an average base salary of $1,366,666.67 million.
P Brian Moorman – Dallas Cowboys – Signed a one-year, $940,000 contract that will pay him $940,000 in 2013 and have an average base salary of $940,000.
RB LaRod Stephens-Howling – Arizona Cardinals – Signed a one-year, $780,000 contract that will pay him $780,000 in 2013 and have an average base salary of $715,000.
Summation: Judging by past years, the contracts signed by both Mundy and Stephens-Howling aren\’t likely to be big enough to be counted in the compensatory formula, so regardless if either makes their respective teams, I think that both are non factors when it comes to compensation.
Assuming that Allen makes the Cowboys roster and Moorman wins the Steelers punting job out of training camp, then both should cancel each other out. However, should Moorman not make the Steelers roster and Allen sticks with the Cowboys, and assuming that his salary qualifies in the formula, the Steelers very well could receive a seventh-round compensatory pick as a result.
The signing of Gradkowski will likely cancel out the loss of either Mendenhall or Starks, so that would leave the Steelers with a net loss of either three or four qualified free agents depending on what happens with both Moorman and Allen.
There is no doubt in my mind that Wallace will result in the Steelers receiving a third-round compensatory pick based on the contract that he signed.
Based on the size of the contract signed by Lewis, I would venture to guess that the Steelers will receive a fifth-round compensatory pick for his loss based on past history.
As far as Starks and Mendenhall go, it likely won\’t matter which of the two that the signing of Gradkowski cancels out. At best, I can see the Steelers receiving a seventh-round pick for whichever one of the two players that counts as a loss.
Conclusion: At best, I think the Steelers will receive third, fifth and two seventh-round compensatory picks in the 2014 draft and at worst a third, fifth and a seventh.
