If you follow the NFLPA salary cap data report like I do, you may have noticed that the Pittsburgh Steelers lost $676,800 in salary cap space on Wednesday as they went from $6,519,614 in available space down to $5,842,814. This recent deduction was the annual place holder charge for offseason workout bonus charges.
The league charged all 32 teams $676,800 and that figure is determined by multiplying 90 players by $235 per day and then by 32, the number of organized team activity sessions planned. This place holder remains on the books until the actual workout bonus amounts for each team are calculated.
Per the NFL CBA: ARTICLE 13, Section 5:
(g) Offseason Workouts. Beginning on the first day of the League Year, each Club’s Team Salary will be charged an amount that is calculated as follows: multiply the minimum daily amount set forth in Article 21, Section 3 ($235 for the 2020 League Year) by 2,880 (90 players (or the maximum roster limit for that League Year) × 4 days/week × 8 weeks = 2,880). At the conclusion of the program, but no later than August 15, this charge will be adjusted based upon the amounts actually paid to players who participated in the offseason program. At that time, the amount paid to each player will be charged to Salary and Team Salary, and the original charge set forth in the first sentence of this Subsection shall be removed from Team Salary. In addition to these amounts, any incentives in Player Contracts related to offseason workouts shall be included in Team Salary pursuant to Section 6(c) below.
This charge on Wednesday was expected to take place. The Steelers currently have 70 players under contract per the NFLPA report.
| Projected Steelers 2020 Salary Cap Space (4/11/2020) | |
|---|---|
| Contracts | 70 |
| NFL Salary Cap | $198,200,000 |
| Team Carryover | $3,081,389 |
| Team Adjustment | $92,235 |
| Effective Cap | $201,373,624 |
| OTA Workout Debt Placeholder | $676,800 |
| Top 51 Rule Contracts | $185,862,548 |
| Practice Squad | $0 |
| Injured Reserve | $0 |
| Dead Money | $8,991,462 |
| Estimated Cap Space | $5,842,814 |
