Pittsburgh Steelers G James Daniels informed reporters that the team does not intend to negotiate a contract extension. By implication, he is preparing to hit unrestricted free agency again in 2025, which should be to his financial advantage. The question is, how much? If the Steelers are truly prepared to move on, then they should hope for as much as possible. And Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes Daniels is in for a windfall elsewhere in 2025.
“Guards hit it big in free agency this year. Daniels could come close to doubling his money”, he said during his latest chat session. “In any event he’ll earn much more than the $8 million a year he’s making with the Steelers. You can’t pay everyone. Daniels has been solid, but he’s never made a Pro Bowl. Sometimes you have to go young and cheap at a position because there are others on the roster who are valued more”.
A former second-round draft pick out of Iowa, James Daniels signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Steelers in 2022. He signed a three-year contract worth $26.5 million, which at the time was the largest the Steelers gave to an outside free agent. That record only lasted two years, as they gave Patrick Queen $41 million over three years, but nevertheless.
Daniels has started 32 games for the Steelers over the past two seasons, missing two games in 2023. In both seasons, he has started off somewhat slow before finding his footing in the second half of the year. If he can put together a more consistent season, at 27, he should be near the top of the guard market in 2025.
As Fittipaldo pointed out, guards made out well in free agency during the 2024 offseason. Landon Dickerson signed an extension averaging $21 million, for example. Jonah Jackson, Damien Lewis, and Jon Runyan Jr. all signed eight-figures-per-year deals as free agents. Simply through cap inflation, Daniels should comfortable reach eight figures per year as well.
He was already on the precipice with his last deal, after all, and hasn’t proven a failure, even if he hasn’t been a homerun swing. Daniels is simply a quality starter at this point with the potential for more. He is still relatively young and has never played in a top offense or with a top line. I could see a team with a better system turning him into something more than he has shown up to this point.
A team might even view him as a center. And unlike the Steelers’ previous centers, Dermontti Dawson and Jeff Hartings, Daniels was actually a center, so it’s not a stretch or a projection. That gives him multiple positions at which to land a contract.
Meanwhile, the Steelers are hoping that they can’t afford to pay Daniels because they’ll have to pay others. They have three young linemen whom they’ll need to pay in the future if they work out as hoped. And they really hope to have a fact quarterback contract on the books in the near future as well.
That’s why they drafted Mason McCormick, and likely why they moved Spencer Anderson to guard. If they can find a starter-level player to take over for James Daniels at guard, that’s one less thing to worry about. And they can reap the benefits of a high compensatory pick in 2026.
