The Pittsburgh Steelers are creating some 2024 salary cap space ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, and that’s quite interesting news.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Steelers have done a simple restructure OLB Alex Highsmith’s salary to create more than $7 million in 2024 salary cap space.
The Steelers entered Wednesday with $12,005,998 in 2024 salary cap space so the team might be looking into a trade of some sorts ahead of, or during, the NFL draft. The team has been rumored to maybe looking to trade for a wide receiver soon. The two main players the Steelers have been linked to so far are San Francisco 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk and Denver Broncos WR Courtland Sutton.
A full regular restructure of Highsmith’s contract would create $7.206 million in 2024 salary cap space. That would free up more than enough salary cap space for the Steelers to trade for any wide receiver at this point. If that were to happen, the Steelers would then likely work out a contract extension with the player after acquiring him.
While the Steelers were likely going to need to restructure the contract of Highsmith at some point during the offseason, the timing of this happening is significant ahead of the NFL Draft.
I wrote a few weeks ago about the signs we might see ahead of the draft if indeed the Steelers were to possibly trade for a big-name wide receiver. Creating 2024 salary cap space ahead of the draft with the team already having $12 million free is indeed one of those signs.
Does this restructure ahead of the draft mean for sure the Steelers will be making a trade for a player soon? No, but it sure opens up the possibility of a trade happening now.
As far as the restructuring of Highsmith’s contract, he was scheduled to earn a base salary in 2024 of $10.733 million. The Steelers likely turned all but $1.125 million of that base salary into a signing bonus, which in turn would lower Highsmith’s 2024 salary cap charge to $6.727 million. His previously scheduled salary cap charge for 2024 was $13.933 million.
Assuming a full and normal restructure of the Highsmith contract was done, the Steelers should now have $19,211,998 in available salary cap space.
