As of today, there are now 77 days until the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to open their 2024 regular season on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. Within those next 77 days, I expect the Steelers to spend at least $20 million more in cash on players and possibly even as much as $35 million more, depending on if they ultimately trade for a notable wide receiver.
As things stand right now, with 77 days until the start of the Steelers’ 2024 regular season, the team has a cash spend total of nearly $203 million. That $203 million total includes the top 53 cash spends for 2024 currently under contract and all other signing bonus totals given to players this offseason outside of the top 53. When you tack on another $7 million in expected cash expenditures for things such as offseason workout bonuses, a full practice squad, and a buffer for potential Reserve/Injured players, the Steelers’ forecasted cash spend total for 2024 now sits at nearly $210 million.
Based on a current projected cash spend total of $210 million, that’s just 82.2 percent of the NFL’s 2024 salary cap of $255.4 million. Throughout the offseason, I have projected that the Steelers will spend at least $235 million, at a minimum, in cash for 2024, which is 92 percent of the NFL’s 2024 salary cap amount. Obviously, the Steelers could spend more than $235 million, but I am using that amount as a floor for now.
Let me make it clear: The Steelers aren’t required to spend a certain amount of cash related to a percentage of the league’s 2024 salary cap number this year, as it is just the first year of the new three-year spending span in the CBA. The $235 million cash spend floor in 2024 is my projection, and it quite easily could be way off.
Assuming my low-end projection of $235 million is correct, or at least very close, I think we can expect the Steelers to spend at least $20-$25 million more in cash over the course of the next 77 days. If that expectation is as plausible as I think it is, how will the Steelers go about spending such a significant amount of cash?
For starters, I still expect the Steelers to sign TE Pat Freiermuth to a contract extension in the next 77 days. Freiermuth is currently on the 2024 books as a projected $1,482,024 cash spend, so if he’s ultimately extended, expect that amount to grow by around $13 million or so, most of which would be paid to him as a signing bonus.
Now, with roughly $13 million more in cash spending seemingly spoken for with Freiermuth’s name on it, that still leaves at least another $7-$12 million more in cash spending for the Steelers in the next 77 days.
While many people probably don’t want to hear or talk about it right now, such an additional cash spending of around $7-$12 million certainly would work perfectly for a contract extension for RB Najee Harris. Harris is currently scheduled to earn $2,439,198 in cash in 2024. If my recent contract projection for him is correct, his new cash total for the upcoming season would be $10.2 million, an increase of roughly $7.76 million.
Let’s now think about where cash maybe could be spent by the Steelers in the next 77 days outside of possible Freiermuth and Harris contract extensions.
While several of you reading this post are probably blurting out DT Cameron Heyward’s name, it’s important to remember that his current cash spending amount of $16 million isn’t likely to increase much, if any, should he ultimately sign a contract extension in the next 77 days. If it were to increase at all, I can’t imagine that amount being more than $2 million.
We already know that OG James Daniels is unlikely to receive a contract extension in the next 77 days. As for a possible contract extension for QB Justin Fields, while certainly plausible, there have been no real signs that such a transaction will come to fruition. Consider Fields a real wildcard at this point when it comes to a potential additional cash expenditure in these next 77 days.
Outside of the possible contract extension candidates already mentioned in this post, the only real way for the Steelers to spend additional significant amounts of cash in the next 77 days would be via more higher-dollar signings or a trade. Quite obviously, a trade for a significant playmaker at the wide receiver position would likely require a sizeable additional cash expenditure. Even so, there’s been no tangible evidence that such a trade acquisition will ultimately come to fruition.
In closing, I think it’s easy to predict that the Steelers will spend at least $20 million in cash in the next 77 days with roughly $13 million of that going towards Freiermuth. Personally, I will be surprised if at least $20 million more in cash is not spent. If that additional cash spending beyond Freiermuth does not go toward Fields or an acquired wide receiver, I really think you could see Harris wind up with it via a contract extension.
