The start of the 2024 NFL league year is now less than a week away and on Thursday the NFLPA released its annual cash spending report for all teams for the 2023 league year. That report, even though not widely popular or understood, is important to look at. We’ll do just that in this post and break it down in relation to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
According to the NFLPA tweet from Thursday, the Steelers spent $219.4 million in total cash in 2023, or at least through March 7. That ranked 17th overall in the NFL. If you remember my post from nearly one full year ago, I predicted that the Steelers would spend $218.0 million in cash in 2023. I’m pretty proud of that prediction as I was just $1.4 million off. Not bad for a first educated guess attempt at doing that.
Now, my 2023 cash spending prediction was made a bit easier by the fact that it was the third year of the three-year NFL spending period. To be clearer, NFL teams are required to spend at least 90 percent of the total cap number over three seasons (2021-2023) in cash. I knew roughly what the Steelers had spent in cash in the first two years, 2021 and 2022, and then I had a rough idea as to what they needed to spend in 2023. It was a smaller window to work within.
So, what qualifies as cash? Well, really any paid-out monies to a player in a single league year. Things like base salaries, roster bonuses, workout bonuses and incentives all obviously apply. Additionally, if a player is given a signing bonus at any point during the league year, that full amount, unless designated to be split into future years, counts fully as one cash payment in whatever year it is paid.
Now, back to the three-year cash-spending rule in the NFL. According to the last three cash spending reports from the NFLPA, the Steelers spent roughly $597.3 million in cash from 2021-2023. The three-year cap total for 2021-2023 was $615.5 million, so the Steelers essentially spent 97% of that amount in cash, easily satisfying the 90 percent rule. Even so, the Steelers’ $597.3 million cash total for 2021-2023 ranked them 23rd in the NFL for those three years.
To put the Steelers’ three-year cash spending into perspective, the Cleveland Browns led the NFL during that span with roughly $757.5 million in cash spent. That equates to 123.1% of the three-year cap total. The Browns were the tops in the NFL for that three-year span by quite a bit as the New York Jets were second with roughly $719.4 million in cash spent from 2021-2023.
Not only were the Steelers the lowest cash-spending team in the AFC North in the last three years, but they were also the lowest cash-spending team in the entire AFC. How does that strike you? Now, the Steelers obviously did not have a franchise quarterback to pay for two of those three years but they did make OLB T.J. Watt and S Minkah Fitzpatrick the highest-paid players at their respective positions during those three years.
At this point, I should probably point out that three teams, the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and New Orleans Saints, all failed to hit the 90 percent cash versus cap spending mark, according to the data released by the NFLPA for the last three years. Below is what the CBA says about that in Article 12, Section 9 when it comes to Minimum Team Cash Spending.
Any shortfall in the Minimum Team Cash Spending at the end of a League Year in which it is applicable (i.e., the 2020, 2023, 2026, or 2030 League Years) shall be paid, on or before the next September 15, by the Team having such shortfall, directly to the players who were on such a Team’s roster at any time during the applicable seasons, pursuant to the reasonable allocation instructions of the NFLPA.
That portion of the CBA aside, it is important to remind everyone that the 2023 league year still doesn’t officially end until 4:00 pm. New York time on March 13. In short, teams such as the Cowboys, Packers and Saints can still spend cash on players via extensions and such up until then.
Now, moving on past 2023, how much cash might the Steelers spend in 2024? It’s hard to say for sure and especially with this being the first year of the new three-year cash spending cycle. That said, I would guess that the Steelers plan is to spend around 90 percent of this year’s cap number of $255.4 million in cash. 90 percent would equate to roughly $230 million.
Now, as of the time of this post, the Steelers’ top 53 players under contract for 2024 total out at $177,754,120. When you add in the projected signing bonuses of this year’s draft class, that amount swells to roughly $192.6 million. Now, that $192.6 million does include the $10 million that WR Allen Robinson II is currently scheduled to earn in 2024 so if he gets released or takes a pay reduction, that will need to be accounted for.
Let’s also not forget that TE Pat Freiermuth might receive a contract extension at some point during the offseason. If he does, I could see at least another $13 million in cash being spent on him in 2024. That would put the Steelers at an estimated $205.6 million in cash spending for 2024 based on how the top 53 under contract sit today. That would also mean that the Steelers would likely spend roughly another $25 million in cash this offseason, and likely on free agents.
So, is $25 million the free agent cash spending projection from me this offseason? Personally, I think it might come in higher than that, especially if the roster is massaged more by doing something with Robinson and perhaps possibly cutting a few other players currently in the top 53 at some point. Because of that, I could really see the Steelers spending somewhere between $35 and $40 million in total cash on free agents this offseason, at least based on how things sit today. That guess also assumes that the Steelers will extend Freiermuth at some point during the offseason as well.
What is the most that the Steelers might spend in total cash for the 2024 league year, personally, I will be surprised if that number exceeds $240 million, which is right around 94 percent of the league’s $244.5 million cap number. Let’s see how all of these early offseason projections ultimately play out.
After the 2024 NFL Draft takes place, I will write another post that recaps what the Steelers have spent in cash up until that point. By then, we should have a pretty good idea of what the team plans to spend in cash for the 2024 league year.
By the way, if you read all of the above, you are probably a big nerd like I am. Welcome to the club.
