While the NFLPA never actually applied the annual NFL workout bonus placeholder amount of $849,600 to all 32 teams to their public salary cap page this offseason, the actual amount was indicated and charged off on Tuesday morning. In the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers, that amount was $647,297.
As usual, the charged amount did not equal the full expected placeholder amount. That’s the case every year. In case you’re curious, players receive up to $295 per day for every team offseason activity. You can read that section of the CBA below.
With the annual workout amounts for players now charged, the Steelers are $10,592,674 under the cap as of Tuesday morning.
The Steelers still need to account for several pre-regular season costs such as a 52nd and 53rd player, a full 16-man practice squad, an in-season buffer to work with and room for all players who are on Reserve/Injured. Those additional costs have a projected total of $17.5 million, which would result in the team being $6,907,326 over the cap if applied today.
The Steelers are still expected to restructure the contract of outside linebacker T.J. Watt prior to Week One to offset the additional salary cap space needed to cover the forthcoming additional budgeted costs. A full restructuring of Watt’s contract would clear $12,613,334 in 2023 salary cap space.
The Steelers, however, might not need to do a full restructuring of Watt’s contract depending on how many players currently in the team’s Rule of 51 ultimately fail to remain under contract by Week One.
Below is an updated breakdown of the Steelers’ 2023 salary cap situation with the known offseason workout bonus now in place in lieu of the placeholder amount.
