The 2018 NFL league year starts Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. and the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to clear salary cap space ahead of that happening.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, the Steelers are restructuring the contract of tackle Alejandro Villanueva.
Villanueva, who signed a four year contract worth $24 million last July, was due a $3 million roster bonus in March along with a base salary of $3 million. The Steelers likely turned all of his roster bonus and all but $705,000 of his base salary into a signing bonus. Such a restructure would free up $3.53 million in salary cap space in 2018.
The restructure, as presented, would add $1.765 million to Villanueva’s 2019 and 2020 previously scheduled salary cap charges. Below is what his contract should look like after the restructure.
This restructure should not be a surprise to Steelers fans as I posted quite a while ago that Villanueva would be a likely candidate for one. So far this offseason the Steelers have restructured the contracts of Villanueva, wide receiver Antonio Brown, defensive end Stephon Tuitt and guard David DeCastro.
| YEAR | BASE SALARY | SIGNING BONUS | WORKOUT BONUS | ROSTER BONUS | CAP CHARGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | $705,000 | $3,390,000 | $- | $- | $4,095,000 |
| 2019 | $5,000,000 | $3,390,000 | $- | $- | $8,390,000 |
| 2020 | $5,000,000 | $3,390,000 | $- | $- | $8,390,000 |
