Najee Harris was one of several Pittsburgh Steelers free agents to agree to terms elsewhere on the first day of legal tampering yesterday. While it’s tough to see good players leave, several of them agreed to large enough contract to qualify the Steelers for potential compensatory picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Najee Harris was among them with an initially reported one-year, $9.25 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers. Contract details that have emerged could put that compensatory value at risk.
Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Harris’ base salary is lower than expected with incentives raising it to the initially reported amount.
“Najee Harris’ one-year deal with the Chargers: $3.75 million signing bonus, $1.5M base salary (fully gtd), Up to $4M rush yards incentives,” Pelissero wrote on X.
That makes a base of $5.25 million and a max of $9.25 million.
According to Over The Cap’s Nick Korte, that drops his compensatory value from a fifth-round pick to a sixth-round pick.
“Najee Harris’s base APY is much lower than reported, at $5.25M APY. That drops the compensatory pick value of his contract to the 6th round for the Steelers,” Korte wrote. “It also means the Josh Palmer 5th for the Chargers could reopen up if they lose another CFA.”
Compensatory picks are awarded the following year to reward teams that have internal free agents who sign elsewhere. The Steelers haven’t been able to take advantage of this system in a while as they have consistently been adding more than they’ve been losing during free agency the last couple years. That is set to change for the 2026 draft. The Steelers are on track to receive the maximum of four picks, including a third-round pick from Dan Moore Jr.’s contract. That is subject to change if the Steelers make any additional signings.
As for Harris, it is not yet reported what exactly those incentives are. He has rushed for over 1,000 yards in each of his first four NFL seasons, so he should have a good chance to cash in on some of that $4 million in incentives. If he does, his compensatory value could end up back in the fifth-round range.
Harris’ fifth-year option amount would have been $6.79 million, so his base salary is actually lower than what the Steelers would have fully guaranteed him on a one-year deal had they exercised it. With the Steelers placing a second-round RFA tender on Jaylen Warren worth $5,346 million, he technically has a higher base salary than Harris for 2025.
