Steelers Updated Salary Cap - $1.028M Under The Cap

[86WARD]

Looking around the division, the Ravens are in decent shape. As of now, the Cleveland Browns are over the cap by $14.65 million. The Pittsburgh Steelers are tight against the cap with only $1.028 million in cap space. However, the Cincinnati Bengals have $43.7 million in cap space. But, that’s a bit of a hidden debacle seeing as they have only 41 players under contract currently, the third-fewest in the NFL.

https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2023/1/31/23579033/nfl-officially-sets-2023-salary-cap-what-it-means-for-the-baltimore-ravens-lamar-jackson-contract

[EzraTank]

If the Steelers cut Miles Jack, Trubisky and William Jackson that would free up about $30 million in CAP space. But if they cut Jack they will have almost no ILB since Bush isn't being resigned.

[Born2Steel]

If the Steelers cut Miles Jack, Trubisky and William Jackson that would free up about $30 million in CAP space. But if they cut Jack they will have almost no ILB since Bush isn't being resigned.

I think it would be more likely if those players were extended 2-3 years to lessen the 2023 cap hit but gives them more money over time. Just cutting your only real starting ILB and only backup QB doesn’t seem like the Steelers way of doing things.
I can’t understand the William Jackson contract stuff honestly. I have no idea what it means.

[Steeler-in-west]

I guess its MT's call to stay or push his way out. After what he said, i don't understand why he'd want to stay. The Steelers can find a better backup for less IMHO, don't understand their commitment to him.

WJIII seems like a gamble that didn't pay off - Steelers keep looking for someone else's discarded CB trash and it never works out. They should just hire better scouts and maybe an assistant DB coach who can better identify CB talent in the draft.

agreed, Jack they can't afford to let go.

[DuckHodges]

If the Steelers cut Miles Jack, Trubisky and William Jackson that would free up about $30 million in CAP space. But if they cut Jack they will have almost no ILB since Bush isn't being resigned.

Tremaine Edmunds? :wink02:

[steelreserve]

This is where you're supposed to be when you're competing for championships, not trying to put pieces together.

Trubisky can get the hell out and save us some money, and there's no way Jackson will be back at $12M. I'd imagine we'll negotiate it down, but man, didn't we pay him $5M to do nothing for the last third of this year? If so, what a waste of cash we could have carried over.

Jack would be nice to keep, but not at $11M. Guess we need two ILBs again.

I guess there's nothing we can do about Heyward, but that $22M hurts. Just all the backloading and restructuring coming back to haunt you at the end of a player's career.

Chuks at a $13M cap hit is also a joke. But that's also what happens with those deals where you go "No, silly, it's easy to work some cap magic and fit him under the cap THIS year, cap space is never a real issue!" You have to pay for it some time, and here we are.

[Born2Steel]

It really seems they find a way to get players under contract and on the field every season.

[EzraTank]

With the insane amount of TV money and licensing fees for merchandise I wish the NFL would follow the MLB model and just have a luxury CAP, that if you go over you have to pay a luxury tax. These owners can easily afford it.

[Born2Steel]

With the insane amount of TV money and licensing fees for merchandise I wish the NFL would follow the MLB model and just have a luxury CAP, that if you go over you have to pay a luxury tax. These owners can easily afford it.

Baseball fans refer to that as the cheater fee. If anything, MLB needs to adopt a salary floor, IMO.

[steelreserve]

With the insane amount of TV money and licensing fees for merchandise I wish the NFL would follow the MLB model and just have a luxury CAP, that if you go over you have to pay a luxury tax. These owners can easily afford it.

I know, right - why won't the owners vote to give themselves unlimited expenses while bringing in the same amount of money? They must be crazy.

[Mojouw]

Ah, yes. The annual freak out over cap space.

How is that we always manage to be upset over cap space and upset over signing guys to $$$ contracts?

OMG! They have no cap space! BUT Double OMG They are paying Levi Wallace HOW MUCH??

Players cost money. The Steelers have several really good players. They cost a great deal of money.

In the entire salary cap era, I can think of like 3 or 4 dudes who left town solely over cash. None of them was really a big deal. Now....there have been a few times where the ability to give a guy two dump trucks of money might have made that role they wanted him to feel more palatable...but that is a bit different than solely not having the money.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the bigger hurdle for this team is likely the guaranteed cash issue. Several on here pointed out that teams have to escrow that whole nut right away. The Rooney's aren't WALMART gazillionaires. Their pockets are not as deep and if you look around the league there are a few teams that do NOT guarantee as much contract stuff as the others and they are all the shallow pockets - Packers, Bengals, Steelers, etc.

Interesting to consider how that impacts their approach to both initial signing and restructures.

[DesertSteel]

Weren't we just talking a few months ago about how much money the Steelers would have to spend this year??

[86WARD]

As always…if there’s players out there they really want, they’ll get them. It’s never a worry…

[Mojouw]

Weren't we just talking a few months ago about how much money the Steelers would have to spend this year??

I think it is one of those at THIS point they look like they don't have cap space. Give them like a week to make a few moves and suddenly they have oodles of cap space.

I know few like this site, but dude usually is really really close with his cap math: https://steelersdepot.com/2023/01/steelers-2023-salary-cap-primer-series-part-2-realistic-offseason-space-creating-options/

3 cuts and two restructures and there is $45 million in cap space. That is a ton of cash with virtually no pain.

[DuckHodges]

As always…if there’s players out there they really want, they’ll get them. It’s never a worry…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXNqEURmKtA

[DesertSteel]

I think it is one of those at THIS point they look like they don't have cap space. Give them like a week to make a few moves and suddenly they have oodles of cap space.

I know few like this site, but dude usually is really really close with his cap math: https://steelersdepot.com/2023/01/steelers-2023-salary-cap-primer-series-part-2-realistic-offseason-space-creating-options/

3 cuts and two restructures and there is $45 million in cap space. That is a ton of cash with virtually no pain.
He's probably stealing it from someone.

I'm looking forward to the FA/Draft season. 2023 is the year we're back in contention.

[Rotorhead]

I think it is one of those at THIS point they look like they don't have cap space. Give them like a week to make a few moves and suddenly they have oodles of cap space.

I know few like this site, but dude usually is really really close with his cap math: https://steelersdepot.com/2023/01/steelers-2023-salary-cap-primer-series-part-2-realistic-offseason-space-creating-options/

3 cuts and two restructures and there is $45 million in cap space. That is a ton of cash with virtually no pain.

I think if they extend Jack they can gain another $4-$5 million as well as keeping him. So to summarize that link, cut WJ3, Trashbisky and Witherspoon; restructure TJ and MFF for $45m in cap space and what I read elsewhere we can add another $4M for almost $50M in cap space. I also recall we have a $4-5M credit rolling over to this year. That is just minor work there to give us good $$ for resigns and at least 1 good FA (Edmunds brother? Or top OL?).

[steelreserve]

As always…if there’s players out there they really want, they’ll get them. It’s never a worry…

I don't know about that. There have been many, many times when we could have used, say, a stud offensive lineman or a competent ILB - but instead our big free agent signing is Cam Heyward's restructure from 2019, and we get John Rando to play OL or LB.

How many of those have there been? Nobody knows, because we don't get the player, and then the fans all say, "Hurr-durr, it's the Steelers Way, no flashy free agents, 4D chess!" and maybe throw in some remark about how well the Browns are doing.

I don't know, maybe all teams are like that, or maybe not. I'd be curious to see a leaguewide comparison of how much money teams tend to have tied up in constant restructures (which also force you to pay the ballooning salaries at the end of a contract more often than you otherwise might). It seems like we've perpetually got $20 million tied up in funny money from the early years of existing contracts, and another $10 or $20 million that we're paying guys when we'd really rather not, but the dead cap hit would be just as bad and then you have to find someone else to fill that spot anyway.

Is that the standard way of doing things? Maybe, but I would be shocked if it was the only one.

[86WARD]

I don't know about that. There have been many, many times when we could have used, say, a stud offensive lineman or a competent ILB - but instead our big free agent signing is Cam Heyward's restructure from 2019, and we get John Rando to play OL or LB.

How many of those have there been? Nobody knows, because we don't get the player, and then the fans all say, "Hurr-durr, it's the Steelers Way, no flashy free agents, 4D chess!" and maybe throw in some remark about how well the Browns are doing.

I don't know, maybe all teams are like that, or maybe not. I'd be curious to see a leaguewide comparison of how much money teams tend to have tied up in constant restructures (which also force you to pay the ballooning salaries at the end of a contract more often than you otherwise might). It seems like we've perpetually got $20 million tied up in funny money from the early years of existing contracts, and another $10 or $20 million that we're paying guys when we'd really rather not, but the dead cap hit would be just as bad and then you have to find someone else to fill that spot anyway.

Is that the standard way of doing things? Maybe, but I would be shocked if it was the only one.

They create the cap space year after year after year after year even when it seems impossible or dismal to keep players they want to keep. They’ve never been a team to go spend on flashy free agents…ever. Cap space isn’t as big an issue as people want it to be…

[Mojouw]

From my cursory understanding is that the Steelers way of doing things is totally in line with the handful of teams that are capped out every year and have rosters with actual talent on them. This is usually teams that have a "franchise" QB and view themselves as SB contenders.

I think the Packers are like a gazillion dollars over the cap trying to put a defense around Rodgers. The Saints lived this way and are still paying for it during the Brees tenure. Seattle did if for awhile around Wilson. You all get the idea.

Once you get off the the push it all into the middle every season because we have a legit threat at QB carousel, then sure....time to slow your roll with the cap sorcery and just focus on solid team friendly signings.

[Rotorhead]

I don't know about that. There have been many, many times when we could have used, say, a stud offensive lineman or a competent ILB - but instead our big free agent signing is Cam Heyward's restructure from 2019, and we get John Rando to play OL or LB.

How many of those have there been? Nobody knows, because we don't get the player, and then the fans all say, "Hurr-durr, it's the Steelers Way, no flashy free agents, 4D chess!" and maybe throw in some remark about how well the Browns are doing.

I don't know, maybe all teams are like that, or maybe not. I'd be curious to see a leaguewide comparison of how much money teams tend to have tied up in constant restructures (which also force you to pay the ballooning salaries at the end of a contract more often than you otherwise might). It seems like we've perpetually got $20 million tied up in funny money from the early years of existing contracts, and another $10 or $20 million that we're paying guys when we'd really rather not, but the dead cap hit would be just as bad and then you have to find someone else to fill that spot anyway.

Is that the standard way of doing things? Maybe, but I would be shocked if it was the only one.

Yeah, resigning Heyward was such a terrible choice . . .

[steelreserve]

Yeah, resigning Heyward was such a terrible choice . . .

Resigning and restructuring are not the same thing. I am talking about how we constantly drag around a bunch of money that we pushed back a couple years. If you ALWAYS do that, you eventually stop gaining any advantage - you are just restructuring contracts to make up for some other contract you restructured 2 years ago, it's a never-ending domino effect. I am pretty sure we're still playing cap games that are the aftermath of shit that started in like 2010.

[Mojouw]

Resigning and restructuring are not the same thing. I am talking about how we constantly drag around a bunch of money that we pushed back a couple years. If you ALWAYS do that, you eventually stop gaining any advantage - you are just restructuring contracts to make up for some other contract you restructured 2 years ago, it's a never-ending domino effect. I am pretty sure we're still playing cap games that are the aftermath of shit that started in like 2010.

Not really. Every 3 years or so, they have a year where they clear the books.

[86WARD]

Majority of dead space comes from Tuitt’s contract. Not the Steelers fault.

[Rotorhead]

Resigning and restructuring are not the same thing. I am talking about how we constantly drag around a bunch of money that we pushed back a couple years. If you ALWAYS do that, you eventually stop gaining any advantage - you are just restructuring contracts to make up for some other contract you restructured 2 years ago, it's a never-ending domino effect. I am pretty sure we're still playing cap games that are the aftermath of shit that started in like 2010.

The Steelers have been doing it for DECADES and we have been a perennial playoff team until our franchise QB retired.

[DuckHodges]

Majority of dead space comes from Tuitt’s contract. Not the Steelers fault.

i still hate that guy for that. he collected over 10 million to sit on his ass and feel sorry for himself. my dad passed away and i was at work TWO days later

[Craic]

i still hate that guy for that. he collected over 10 million to sit on his ass and feel sorry for himself. my dad passed away and i was at work TWO days later

Dude. Show a modicum of humanity. Not every person is you. You have no idea what is happening in his personal life. So, give the man a break. Personally, I respect a man who's willing to step away from a successful career (and make no doubt about it, any player that lasts a few years in the NFL has a successful career compared to the average Joe) to take care of themselves. It's the idiots who stay in until they break down, like AB.