With the 2018 NFL salary cap number now reportedly set at $177.2 million as of Monday night, it’s easy to determine what the restricted free agent tender amounts will be for next season as well.
Former NFL agent Joel Corry passed along those amounts Monday night and the two lower figures will presumably factor in to the 2018 plans of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Currently, the Steelers have several players set to become restricted free agents at the start of the new league year in the middle of March and they are kicker Chris Boswell, outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo, wide receiver Eli Rogers, running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and Greg Ducre. Of those five players, Boswell is expected to receive a second-round tender in the amount of $2.914 million from the Steelers in the coming days while Chickillo is expected to receive the low original round tender of $1.907 million. Assuming Boswell receives a second-round tender from the Steelers we can then probably look for the two sides to work out a long-term contract extension later in the summer.
It will be interesting to see if Rogers, who is currently recovering from offseason knee surgery, will ultimately receive a low tender from the Steelers. As for Toussaint and Ducre, however, neither player is expected to be restricted tendered by the Steelers. It’s also worth pointing out that according to Corry, punter Jordan Berry will now earn $1.907 million in 2018 as well as he had already re-signed with the Steelers for one-year. Berry was previously scheduled to be a restricted free agent this offseason but reportedly wanted to get his signing done early.
Now knowing the tender amounts should also now finalize what tight end Jesse James and wide receiver Martavis Bryant will both earn as base salaries in 2018. As I have pointed out in previous salary cap related posts, both James and Bryant are expected to receive pay increasing in 2018 thanks to them presumably qualifying for the league’s Proven Performance Escalator. That amount is equal to the lowest restricted tender amount, so $1.907 million for each.
The Steelers are likely to announce their issued restricted tenders for 2018 sometime later this week.
