The Pittsburgh Steelers signed offensive lineman B.J. Finney to a one-year contract on Friday and now we can pass along the details of that deal.
According to NFL salary data from ESPN, Finney’s one-year deal totals out at $1,127,500 and includes a signing bonus of $137,500. His base salary in 2021 is scheduled to be just $990,000, the minimum for his accrued years.
Finney’s contract is deemed a qualifying contract under the Veteran Salary Benefit section of the CBA and thus he will have a reduced cap charge of $987,500. The Steelers effectively used $327,500 of available salary cap space in signing Finney.
Finney was released by the Cincinnati Bengals last week, a move that wasn’t very surprising. Originally signed by the Steelers in 2015 as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas State, Finney left the Steelers as an unrestricted free agent a year ago, signing a two-year, $8 million contract that included a $2 million signing bonus and $4.5 million guaranteed with the Seattle Seahawks.
Finney played in six games for the Seahawks last season before they traded him in October – along with a seventh-round pick – to the Bengals for defensive end Carlos Dunlap. He played in just one game with the Bengals after being acquired via trade. He logged just two special teams snaps in that lone appearance with the Bengals.
Finney played all three interior offensive line positions in his first stint with the Steelers. As of right now, he’s considered the top center on the team’s depth chart following the retirement of veteran center Maurkice Pouncey earlier in the offseason. The addition of Finney should prevent the Steelers from still addressing the center position at some point during the 2021 NFL Draft.
