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View Full Version : Heath restructures to sign replacement players



NCSteeler
09-14-2013, 09:50 AM
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/14/heath-miller-restructuring-highlights-pittsburghs-salary-cap-mess/

As much as I can't stand Florio's opinion most of the time, he's dead on here. This definitely highlights the situation we are in with the salary cap and things like this will only make it much much worse this coming offseason.

salamander
09-14-2013, 11:11 AM
It's sad and ridiculous that we're even at that point...

ALLD
09-14-2013, 11:17 AM
He hasn't played a down yet, so it is a good choice.

Master Blaster
09-14-2013, 11:28 AM
It's sad and ridiculous that we're even at that point..
To think that, pre Tomlin, the Steelers organization was a model of prudent fiscal responsibility.

Shoes
09-14-2013, 12:21 PM
To think that, pre Tomlin, the Steelers organization was a model of prudent fiscal responsibility.

......and maybe the changing of the guard in the Rooney department added to the problems also. I think it would have been good if Drunkenmiller would have bought into this team.

Godfather
09-14-2013, 12:33 PM
We really only had two options: let all those big name players walk, or play musical contracts knowing it would eventually blow up in our faces.

Imagine if we had the salary cap in the 1970s....the starting defense alone wouldn't have fit under the cap.

Count Steeler
09-14-2013, 02:20 PM
As much as I blame the FO for the cap situation, we have to remember that the cap has NOT increased for the last 4 years. In previous years, it has always gone up. You, likewise would also expect it to go up as in previous seasons. Really, the cap should be in the $144 million range if history is followed. From 2006 to 2009, 7 mil increase per year. A whooping 17 mill increase 2005. 2013 is the SAME as 2009. I think it is plain to see that the FO was counting on a similar cap increase and got burned when the cap got capped.

Year Maximum Team Salary
2013 $123 million
2012 $120.6 million
2011 $120 million
2010 Uncapped
2009 $123 million
2008 $116 million
2007 $109 million
2006 $102 million
2005 $85.5 million
2004 $80.582 million
2003 $75.007 million
2002 $71.101 million
2001 $67.405 million
2000 $62.172 million
1999 $57.288 million
1998 $52.388 million
1997 $41.454 million
1996 $40.753 million
1995 $37.1 million
1994 $34.608 million

NCSteeler
09-14-2013, 03:53 PM
No doubt the cap leveled out at a very bad time for us. If a team was building int he last few years they could do it accordingly, but trying to hold a SB team together in this situation has been a wash. I really blame more of it on poor poor drafting.

steelreserve
09-14-2013, 05:48 PM
Great, another $10M contract that we sleepwalked into. So long, Ike. Later, Pouncey. See ya, Sanders.

I mean, Heath is a great player, but you have to remember that now WE'RE PAYING THE TIGHT END 10 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. That type of shit doesn't work.

86WARD
09-14-2013, 07:57 PM
2014 gonna be a shit show...lol.

tube517
09-14-2013, 08:13 PM
2014 gonna be a shit show...lol.

2014? That shit show may start this year! :lol:

salamander
09-14-2013, 09:05 PM
2014? That shit show may start this year! :lol:

Yeah, the team hasn't exactly instilled much confidence yet.

Mistah Q
09-15-2013, 01:54 AM
Tbe salaryh ap99 is overpaikyhed we shoujld cut thnat ihn haltgf and ugse all gthe extras smonehy to pahy for injhujrfeis restires planhyes

86WARD
09-15-2013, 06:45 AM
2014? That shit show may start this year! :lol:

I was just talking money...lol. But the way injuries piled up, you may be right.

Pretty safe to say that this is keisel, Ike and Troys last season in Pittsburgh.

katmandu
09-15-2013, 07:26 AM
We really only had two options: let all those big name players walk, or play musical contracts knowing it would eventually blow up in our faces.

Imagine if we had the salary cap in the 1970s....the starting defense alone wouldn't have fit under the cap.It's nice to see some people get it. Nobody wants to talk about it "publicly" and everyone wants to live in the land of denial.

I too have been saying all along that the rob Peter to pay Paul philosophy will eventually catch up to the Steelers.

Now it's time to pay the Piper!

- - - Updated - - -


To think that, pre Tomlin, the Steelers organization was a model of prudent fiscal responsibility.Tomlin doesn't sign the checks does he ?

It's who is at the top of the pyramid that does sign the checks. That is who is ultimately responsible for this.

Master Blaster
09-15-2013, 09:09 AM
It's nice to see some people get it. Nobody wants to talk about it "publicly" and everyone wants to live in the land of denial.

I too have been saying all along that the rob Peter to pay Paul philosophy will eventually catch up to the Steelers.

Now it's time to pay the Piper!

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Tomlin doesn't sign the checks does he ?

It's who is at the top of the pyramid that does sign the checks. That is who is ultimately responsible for this.
Obviously, you have reading comprehension problem. Where did I say that Tomlin writes the checks? FYI, My comment was directed at the front office's change in how they've approached the salary cap since they hired Tomlin. That's an irrefutable and undeniable fact.

katmandu
09-15-2013, 12:34 PM
Obviously, you have reading comprehension problem. Where did I say that Tomlin writes the checks? FYI, My comment was directed at the front office's change in how they've approached the salary cap since they hired Tomlin.Please quite being so Egocentric. :rolleyes: My comment was NOT directed at YOU specifically.

katmandu
09-15-2013, 12:49 PM
As much as I blame the FO for the cap situation, we have to remember that the cap has NOT increased for the last 4 years. In previous years, it has always gone up. You, likewise would also expect it to go up as in previous seasons. Really, the cap should be in the $144 million range if history is followed. From 2006 to 2009, 7 mil increase per year. A whooping 17 mill increase 2005. 2013 is the SAME as 2009. I think it is plain to see that the FO was counting on a similar cap increase and got burned when the cap got capped.
So why did the player's Union allow this to happen ?

.

Moose
09-15-2013, 01:03 PM
No doubt the cap is going to be a big factor, but let's see how this season plays out. Maybe some rookie's step up and makes next year look promising. Just maybe.

Count Steeler
09-15-2013, 01:26 PM
So why did the player's Union allow this to happen ?
.

The NFLPA is NOT looking out for the best interests of the players. Smith should have been canned long ago.

They should have listened to the Steelers and rejected this last CBA.

BigNastyDefense
09-15-2013, 06:27 PM
The Steelers have always been up against the cap. They were up against the cap often when Cowher was the coach. A coach doesn't change the way a front office operates, and the front office in place now is essentially the same as it was when Cowher was here, other than Art is now the man in charge instead of Dan.

Isn't this the last year of Polamalu's deal? I know he said he would retire when this deal was up. So if this is the last year of it, he's probably gone at the end of the season anyhow. If he ends up hurt again, he'll be gone regardless because I don't think the Steelers would keep him another year at his price tag to sit on the bench hurt.

Psycho Ward 86
09-15-2013, 06:52 PM
Isn't this the last year of Polamalu's deal? I know he said he would retire when this deal was up.

he's only said that he would retire a steeler. not necessarily retire once his deal was up. if this is it for him, were in trouble because we dont have an established play-making dynamo like him on the team as far as we know. if this isnt it for him, were still in trouble because he will be murdering our salary cap

steelreserve
09-15-2013, 10:35 PM
The Steelers have always been up against the cap. They were up against the cap often when Cowher was the coach. A coach doesn't change the way a front office operates, and the front office in place now is essentially the same as it was when Cowher was here, other than Art is now the man in charge instead of Dan.

Isn't this the last year of Polamalu's deal? I know he said he would retire when this deal was up. So if this is the last year of it, he's probably gone at the end of the season anyhow. If he ends up hurt again, he'll be gone regardless because I don't think the Steelers would keep him another year at his price tag to sit on the bench hurt.

There's a difference between being up against the cap, and being backloaded and leveraged into hell for the next two or three years. Most teams are up against the cap on a regular basis. If they run into problems, they choose between one guy and the next guy, and move on. We're so full of restructured deals and bloated balloon salaries that even if we cut players, it actually makes the problem WORSE.

You know how when most teams give out those big cartoon contracts to guys who aren't actually worth $10M a season, they always pay a normal salary the first three years and then leave it so they can get out of the ridiculous part? We back ourselves into a corner so that we have to pay every penny of the ridiculous part, and then manage to make it even worse on ourselves toward the end.

THAT'S what's killing us. We probably have a third of our salary cap tied up in funny money that's basically a charge for past years' salaries for guys like Ben and Woodley. And there's more of it coming. Much more. Be ready for THAT load of fun.

The one thing that can help you out of a situation like that, of course, is drafting just fucking excellent, but we seem to have done more of the opposite.

Master Blaster
09-16-2013, 06:12 AM
Please quite being so Egocentric. :rolleyes: My comment was NOT directed at YOU specifically.
Egocentric? Your inferiority complex is showing. If your comment was not directed toward me then you failed.

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As for the current status of their cap situation...

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/16/steelers-have-some-tough-decisions-to-make-in-2014/

Steelers have some tough decisions to make in 2014


Posted by Mike Florio on September 16, 2013, 1:31 AM EDT


Plenty of good teams have had salary-cap issues. The Steelers have cap issues, but they’re currently not a very good team.


Both last year (when they missed the playoffs) and this year (when they got off to a very sluggish start start), the Steelers had to push cap dollars into future years in order to comply with the current spending limits. Per a league source, the Steelers already have more than $125 million tied up in 2014 commitments.


The good news is that’s not nearly the same cap bulge they’ve dealt with in the past couple of years, requiring less intense effort to get things under control. But several veteran players have huge cap numbers for 2014, forcing the Steelers to decide sooner rather than later whether to try to once again to restructure (pushing cap dollars into future years) or to cut the cord and move on.


Tight end Heath Miller’s cap number for next year recently was pushed to $9.466 million. Safety Troy Polamalu’s 2014 cap number sits at $10.887 million. Cornerback Ike Taylor counts for $10.454 million next year. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons has an $11.816 million cap number in 2014. Linebacker LaMarr Woodley will chew up $13.59 million.


The biggest contract of them all belongs to Ben Roethlisberger, who has a whopping $18.895 million tied to his name for 2014, the next-to-last year of his current contract.


Some of those guys will be cut, others will be kept with reduced cap numbers. Some may want out, depending on how badly the 2013 season goes.


That’s a dynamic the Steelers haven’t had to confront very often during the salary-cap era. What if one or more big-name, big-cap-number players decide to refuse to cooperate, forcing the team’s hand? In past years, players routinely have been willing to sign off on reshuffled deals that don’t reduce their total pay. If this season goes poorly, however, maybe some guys will decide they want out.


Either way, the Steelers are inching toward some tough decisions — and some of their iconic players could be, too.

steelreserve
09-16-2013, 12:07 PM
Sadly, I think the only ones on that list who would actually save us money if released next year are Ike and Troy, since they're in the last year of their deals. The rest would have an increased cap hit because of all the restructures and dead money that would come with it.

I believe Kiesel is also around $5M and may not have all that restructuring tied to his contract, so I would guess he is a likely candidate to be shown the door. Which is a shame, because he is one of the few linemen who's played worth a damn over the past few seasons.

Aussie_steeler
09-16-2013, 03:54 PM
Here is some context


http://www.overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Steelers&Year=2014

http://overthecap.com/best-worst-contracts-the-pittsburgh-steelers/

Handcuffed to Woodley???

NCSteeler
09-16-2013, 04:32 PM
Here is some context


http://www.overthecap.com/teamcap.php?Team=Steelers&Year=2014

http://overthecap.com/best-worst-contracts-the-pittsburgh-steelers/

Handcuffed to Woodley???

They bet the house on Woodley, then after a pretty lousy season, they doubled down and bet the farm. Had to be a better way to find the money from someone else. Now we will be one of those teams cutting players and paying the cap hits for years to come. Gonna be forced to play rookies just to stay under the cap. I know they are trying to manage through Ben's and Troy's years, but it's gonna be real ugly around Pittsburgh for a few years, like 2015-2017