The Pittsburgh Steelers had a few players due roster bonuses just after the start of the new league year and one of those players was linebacker Vince Williams. However, prior to Williams’ roster bonus being due, the Steelers restructured his contract to free up a little bit of salary cap space for 2019.
According to the Tuesday morning NFLPA salary cap update and Ian Whetstone of Steel City insider, Williams had the $2.9 million roster bonus he was due, along with $1.395 million of his scheduled $2.2 million 2019 base salary, turned into a signing bonus as part of his recent contract restructure. The move created $2,863,334 in 2019 salary cap space.
As part of the contract restructure, the bonus proration amounts for Williams in 2020 and 2021 both increased by $1,431,666 and $1,431,668, respectively and his new cap charges in both of those years are now $7,031,666 and $7,031,668, respectively. Williams’ new lowered cap charge in 2019 is $3,836,666 after the restructure. It was previously $6.7 million.
Below is how Williams’ contract looks on paper following the recent restructure. He signed that contract last August.
| YEAR | BASE SALARY | SIGNING BONUS | ROSTER BONUS | CAP CHARGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $805,000 | $3,031,666 | $0 | $3,836,666 |
| 2020 | $4,000,000 | $3,031,666 | $0 | $7,031,666 |
| 2021 | $4,000,000 | $3,031,668 | $0 | $7,031,668 |
