At some point between now and the start of the regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will sign defensive end Cameron Heyward to a contract extension. Being as the New Orleans Saints signed their defensive end and former first round draft pick, Cameron Jordan, to a new extension earlier this week, we now have a great idea as to what Heyward’s new deal will likely look like.
While Jordan received $55 million in new money plus incentives as part of his new contract that runs through the 2020 season, the total base value of all six years is $61.969 million. Additionally, Jordan received a $16 million signing bonus as part of his new deal and $33.469 million is listed as being guaranteed. I should note, however, that $10.5 million of that guaranteed number is considered to be for injury only. Additionally, another $6 million of that is a 2016 roster bonus.
In the final three years of Jordan’s new deal, $1.3 million of it is tied to per game active roster bonuses. In addition to that, another $1.5 million in his final three years is tied to new league year roster bonuses.
While not listed in the numbers below, Jordan can earn an additional $5 million over the life of the contract should he hit all of the sack incentive numbers that are included in the final four years of his deal.
As you can see, Jordan, who was originally scheduled to count $6.969 million against the saints 2015 salary cap, now only has a charge of $4.169 million. His second-year cap charge is scheduled to be $12.8 million and it wont be a surprise to see that lowered next offseason as the Saints could turn that $6 million roster bonus he’ll be due, in addition to $2.5 million of his $3.5 million base salary, into a signing bonus.
Expect Heyward’s deal with the Steelers to be very similar to Jordan’s when it comes to total value. However, I’m not expecting the per game bonuses or sack incentives to be included. When the smoke clears, Heyward’s new deal should average around $10-$10.5 million per season.
Cameron Jordan Contract Breakdown per Nick Underhill of The Advocate
| YEAR | BASE SALARY | PRORATED BONUS | ROSTER BONUS | WORKOUT BONUS | CAP CHARGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $969,000 | $3,200,000 | $0 | $0 | $4,169,000 |
| 2016 | $3,500,000 | $3,200,000 | $6,000,000 | $100,000 | $12,800,000 |
| 2017 | $7,000,000 | $3,200,000 | $0 | $100,000 | $10,300,000 |
| 2018 | $8,400,000 | $3,200,000 | $800,000 | $100,000 | $12,500,000 |
| 2019 | $8,000,000 | $3,200,000 | $1,000,000 | $100,000 | $12,300,000 |
| 2020 | $8,800,000 | $0 | $1,000,000 | $100,000 | $9,900,000 |
