Buy Or Sell: The Pittsburgh Steelers are overpaying to retain Miles Killebrew
Explanation: The Steelers agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million contract to retain Miles Killebrew, their top special teams player. Primarily recognized for his knack of blocking punts, he earned a Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro nod in 2023. At $3.25 million per season, he is surely one of the top-paid special teamers in the entire league.
Buy:
Put simply, Miles Killebrew hit the market at the right time and caught the Steelers in a high market. Two years ago, they re-signed him at $2 million per year, and now they had to pay $3.25. It’s a pretty big raise even considering salary cap inflation, and that’s due to the All-Pro nod he received in 2023.
The reality is he didn’t play substantially better last season than he did his first two years in Pittsburgh. He blocked a punt in his first game in a Steelers uniform that led to a game-winning score as road underdogs. A special teamer could hardly have made a bigger first impression, quite frankly.
But now he has leaguewide recognition, and that’s what they’re paying for. They knew they wanted to keep him, and Killebrew now has a more impressive resume. But just with Derek Watt, paying over $3 million for a special teamer is a lot of money.
Sell:
First of all, the salary cap increased by $47.2 million since the last time Killebrew signed a deal. In 2022, the NFL had a $208.2 million cap, and now it’s $255.4 million. That’s roughly a 23-percent increase, and while, granted, Killebrew received more than a more than 50-percent increase, it’s not so disproportionate in light of the play he’s delivered over the past two years.
If anything, we continue to undervalue special teams players. Killebrew has logged 944 snaps on special teams over the past three years, including 319 last season. That’s not so far from the range of what Connor Heyward and Calvin Austin III contribute on offense.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
