While you can never say never, it appears the Pittsburgh Steelers are pretty much done doing their 2017 free agency shopping. Sure, there’s a possibility that another player or two might be ultimately signed, but even if that happens, they aren’t likely to spend much more than minimum on them.
With the bulk of the signings appearing to be behind us following the recent additions of running back Knile Davis, cornerback Coty Sensabaugh and defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, we can now take another quick look at the team’s 2017 salary cap situation.
As far as real-time numbers go, the NFLPA currently has the Steelers $19,176,718 under the cap as of Wednesday evening, but those numbers do not include the signing of Alualu. Additionally, the NFLPA isn’t currently counting wide receiver Martavis Bryant in the Steelers top 51 salaries and that’s likely because he’s yet to be reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell after he was forced to sit out the 2016 season due a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Including Bryant, as well as Alualu, the Steelers should be $17,191,718 under the cap come Thursday morning.
Now, the $17,191,718 is real-time and as I have pointed out several times so far during the offseason, there’s more charges ahead for the Steelers related to draft class signing displacement, adding 52nd and 53rd players to the roster, a 10-man practice squad, a cap loan repayment, offseason workout bonuses and in-season space needed to sign players. I have itemized these estimated costs for you below in the table and while they’re certainly not going to be exact, it should give you an idea of what lies ahead.
Personally, I always like to look at the Steelers’ cap situation in the future during the offseason and that’s why I have listed a projected expendable amount of cap space of $8,754,441 in the table below.
While that $8,754,441 still seems like quite a bit of cap space, let me remind you once again that a good chunk of that might ultimately be used on contract extensions for defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt and tackle Alejandro Villanueva. I can almost guarantee you that Tuitt will get an extension and when it comes to Villanueva, it makes sense to do it this offseason if the two sides can come to an agreement on a fair contract.
Personally, I think extensions for both could result in additional $8 million in salary cap space being used on the high side and I’ll be interested to find out how close I am to the actual number should both ultimately receive new deals.
As I have mentioned previously and most recently on the Wednesday edition of The Terrible Podcast, it will be interesting to see how the Steelers ultimately handle a contract extension for running back Le’Veon Bell. While it’s hard to fathom that not happening, it’s still hard to speculate as to what his average yearly value will ultimately be in addition to how the contract might be structured.
Being as Bell is currently slated to count $12.12 million against the cap as a result of him receiving the franchise tag ahead of the start of the 2017 league year, the Steelers might seriously consider paying him a good chunk of his 2017 money in the form of base salary as opposed to signing bonus. Sure, Bell will still receive a large signing bonus, but the lower it is, the less liability there is related to potential dead money in the future and when you think about his past injuries, suspensions and position he plays, you can see my line of thinking.
Regardless of how the Steelers ultimately structure Bell’s new contract, there’s a good chance his current cap charge of $12.12 million will be lowered. Like always, the devil will ultimately be in the details and luckily those details will be known by July 15, which is the deadline for Bell to be signed to an extension.
Let me end this post by reminding you that there’s always a chance a few players currently earning between one and five million in 2017 could ultimately be cut and thus save the team a little bit of cap space in the process.
Should any other significant signings take place between now and July 15 I will make sure to provide you another full salary cap update.
| STEELERS 2017 PROJECTED SALARY CAP RECAP – 3/22/17 | ||
|---|---|---|
| CONTRACTED PLAYERS | ||
| PLAYER | BASE SALARY | CAP CHARGE |
| Ben Roethlisberger | $12,000,000 | $18,200,000 |
| Antonio Brown | $910,000 | $13,618,334 |
| Le’Veon Bell (FRANCHISE TAG) | $12,120,000 | $12,120,000 |
| Maurkice Pouncey | $7,500,000 | $11,051,000 |
| David DeCastro | $6,750,000 | $11,050,000 |
| Cameron Heyward | $5,000,000 | $10,400,000 |
| Mike Mitchell | $5,000,000 | $8,135,416 |
| Marcus Gilbert | $4,000,000 | $7,308,500 |
| Ladarius Green | $5,000,000 | $6,187,500 |
| Ramon Foster | $2,675,000 | $3,591,666 |
| Ryan Shazier | $1,716,438 | $3,025,020 |
| Arthur Moats | $2,250,000 | $2,883,334 |
| William Gay | $2,000,000 | $2,633,333 |
| Bud Dupree | $1,273,390 | $2,515,169 |
| Vince Williams | $2,000,000 | $2,500,000 |
| Tyson Alualu | $1,250,000 | $2,375,000 |
| Landry Jones | $1,900,000 | $2,200,000 |
| Artie Burns | $885,954 | $2,179,769 |
| James Harrison | $1,200,000 | $1,950,000 |
| Robert Golden | $1,465,000 | $1,881,666 |
| Chris Hubbard (RFA TENDER) | $1,797,000 | $1,797,000 |
| Ross Cockrell (RFA TENDER) | $1,797,000 | $1,797,000 |
| Stephon Tuitt | $1,048,560 | $1,466,641 |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey | $1,200,000 | $1,333,333 |
| Senquez Golson | $798,732 | $1,091,194 |
| David Johnson | $900,000 | $1,017,500 |
| Coty Sensabaugh | $775,000 | $987,500 |
| Sean Davis | $635,771 | $928,856 |
| Sammie Coates | $615,000 | $797,379 |
| Martavis Bryant | $690,000 | $793,346 |
| Javon Hargrave | $560,000 | $733,314 |
| Daniel McCullers | $690,000 | $709,670 |
| Greg Warren | $1,000,000 | $695,000 |
| Justin Hunter | $775,000 | $695,000 |
| Steven Johnson | $775,000 | $695,000 |
| Fitzgerald Toussaint (ERFA TENDER) | $690,000 | $690,000 |
| Zach Mettenberger | $690,000 | $690,000 |
| Jesse James | $615,000 | $667,228 |
| L.T. Walton | $615,000 | $644,232 |
| Alejandro Villanueva (ERFA TENDER) | $615,000 | $615,000 |
| Anthony Chickillo (ERFA TENDER) | $615,000 | $615,000 |
| Chris Boswell (ERFA TENDER) | $615,000 | $615,000 |
| Greg Ducre | $615,000 | $615,000 |
| Jordan Berry | $615,000 | $615,000 |
| Knile Davis | $775,000 | $615,000 |
| L.J. Fort | $615,000 | $615,000 |
| Roosevelt Nix (ERFA TENDER) | $615,000 | $615,000 |
| Jerald Hawkins | $465,000 | $597,622 |
| Tyler Matakevich | $540,000 | $555,763 |
| Eli Rogers | $540,000 | $541,668 |
| Al-Hajj Shabazz | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| B.J. Finney (ERFA TENDER) | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Brian Mihalik | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Cobi Hamilton (ERFA TENDER) | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| DeMarcus Ayers | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Jordan Dangerfield (ERFA TENDER) | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Keavon Milton | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Brandon Dixon | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Trey Williams | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Xavier Grimble (ERFA TENDER) | $540,000 | $540,000 |
| Akil Blount | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| A.J. Hughes | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Canaan Severin | $465,000 | $467,666 |
| Brandon Brown-Dukes | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Devonte Johnson | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Dez Stewart | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Dreamius Smith | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Farrington Huguenin | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Gus Johnson | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Jacob Hagan | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Jason Fanaika | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Johnny Maxey | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Kameron Canaday | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Kyle Friend | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Lavon Hooks | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Matt Feiler | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Marcus Tucker | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Mike Hilton | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Mike Matthews | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Roy Philon | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Ryan Malleck | $465,000 | $465,000 |
| Projected Top 51 Under Contract | $151,192,619 | |
| DEAD MONEY | CHARGE | |
| Shaun Suisham | * | $2,206,000 |
| Ryan Harris | * | $337,500 |
| Travis Feeney | * | $75,267 |
| Demarcus Ayers | * | $59,739 |
| Jordan Zumwalt | * | $26,213 |
| Giorgio Newberry | * | $6,667 |
| Devaunte Sigler | * | $5,334 |
| Tyriq McCord | * | $4,667 |
| Will Monday | * | $3,334 |
| Quinton Schooley | * | $2,667 |
| Johnny Maxey | * | $2,000 |
| David Reeves | * | $1,334 |
| Brandon Brown-Dukes | * | $1,000 |
| Marcus Tucker | * | $1,000 |
| Projected Dead Money Total | $2,732,722 | |
| Projected Rule Of 51 Total | $153,925,341 | |
| ADDITIONAL FUTURE CHARGES | AMOUNT | |
| Projected Draft Pick Signing Bonus Displacement | $1,283,277 | |
| Projected Practice Squad Players | $1,224,000 | |
| Projected Final Cap Loan Repayment | $1,000,000 | |
| Projected 52nd & 53rd Players | $930,000 | |
| Projected Workout Bonuses | $500,000 | |
| Projected Allocated In-Season Cap Space | $3,500,000 | |
| SALARY CAP CREDITS | AMOUNT | |
| 2016 Salary Cap Rollover | $3,269,367 | |
| 2016 Salary Cap Credit 3/10 | $847,692 | |
| 2017 SALARY CAP NUMBER | AMOUNT | |
| 2017 NFL Salary Cap As Of 3/2017 | $167,000,000 | |
| AVAILABLE SALARY CAP SPACE | AMOUNT | |
| Projected 2017 Salary Cap Space As Of 3/22/2017 | $17,191,718 | |
| Projected Expendable 2017 Salary Cap Space As Of 3/22/2017 | $8,754,441 | |
Data credit to: NFLPA, Over the Cap, Joel Corry, Aaron Wilson
