It’s been nearly one full week since we have passed along a 2024 salary cap update for the Pittsburgh Steelers and that’s mainly because the team has been extremely quiet since signing WR Van Jefferson to a one-year contract. However, on the heels of the Monday reports indicating that the Steelers have signed three more free agents, WR Quez Watkins, QB Kyle Allen, and DL Dean Lowry, and the Tuesday addition of KR/RB Cordarrelle Patterson, we can now pass along another projected salary cap update for the team as we await specific contract details on each player.
Before we move forward, details of the one-year contract that Jefferson signed last week surfaced on Monday night. That contract was exactly what I predicted it would be: a veteran benefit deal. On the heels of that, I think there’s also a very good chance that Watkins, Allen, and Lowry will all also sign one-year contracts that qualify as veteran benefit deals.
While Lowry, who has seven credited seasons, should have the highest base salary ($1,210,000) of the three new players, only $985,000 of that should count against the Steelers’ salary cap, in addition to the $167,500 signing bonus that he likely will receive as part of that deal as well. In short, and just like the case with Jefferson, Lowry’s 2024 salary cap charge is expected to be $1,152,500.
As for the one-year deals that Watkins and Allen are expected to sign, both are currently expected to be identical to Jefferson’s. That means base salaries of $1,125,000, with each also expected to receive $167,500 signing bonuses. The cap charges for both Watkins and Allen are also expected to be $1,152,500. Once again, these deals have yet to be filed and made official. These are only projections.
When it comes to Patterson’s deal, we know it is for two-years, $6 million, which should produce a 2024 Steelers salary cap charge of right around $2.25 million. That’s what we will roll with as a projection for right now.
Assuming that Watkins, Allen, and Lowry will all sign veteran benefit contracts, and the Patterson deal comes in as expected, all four will then enter the Steelers’ Rule 51. They each should displace a player with a cap charge of $915,000. In summation, the four new players should require just $2.047 million in total available 2024 salary cap space being used if my projections are correct.
With those three projected contracts accounted for, the Steelers should now be right around $12,918,498 under the cap when it comes to their official Rule of 51 amount. That amount, however, does not include the 2024 workout bonus placeholder amount of $907,200 as it has not officially hit the books yet this offseason, per a source. For now, that $907,200 is considered a predictable forthcoming offseason cost the Steelers will have. One of several the team will have this offseason, by the way.
While the Steelers should now be $12,918,498 under the cap, as the table shows below, the team still has nearly and roughly $18.3 million in forthcoming offseason cap costs that will need to be absorbed before Week One of the 2024 regular season arrives. In short, the Steelers are effective and roughly $5,378,702 over the cap right now when accounting for all forthcoming offseason costs.
There are various ways of creating 2024 Steelers salary cap space this offseason. A two-year contract extension for DT Cameron Heyward, for example, should free up somewhere around $9.5 million in 2024 salary cap space if no new money is given to him for this year as part of that. Additionally, the Steelers can perform a full contract restructuring on the deal that OLB Alex Highsmith signed last summer, and in doing so, $7.206 million in 2024 salary cap space would be freed up. If the need should arise, the contract of S Minkah Fitzpatrick can also be restructured and in doing so that would free up as much $8,916,667 more 2024 salary cap space.
The final roster cutdown to 53 active players is likely to free up some additional 2024 salary cap space for the Steelers, as all players currently in the Rule of 51 aren’t likely to make the Week One team.
For now, the Steelers should be considered to be in fine shape when it comes to available salary cap space to work with through the remainder of the prime period of free agency, which effectively runs through the first Monday after the 2024 NFL Draft takes place.
When the official contract numbers for Watkins, Allen, Lowry, and Patterson all finally come in, I will provide another full update if any of the four are different from my projections. Even if there are differences, they should not be drastic in totality when it comes to the Steelers salary cap space usage.
