Quote Originally Posted by Born2Steel View Post
Learn me something if you would. IF Ben and Pouncey both retire, that is still about $29M tied up in players that won't be playing? And cutting VW would still be about $32M? Just making sure I'm reading what the chart is telling me.
https://overthecap.com/calculator/pittsburgh-steelers/

Can play with every option at the link above.

But, yeah. Pouncey and Ben would be being paid $29 million to not play. That is counterbalanced by NOT having to pay them an additional 7.3 million (Pouncey) and 18.3 million (Ben) to play, at least in cap dollars. In other words, it is cheaper on the salary cap to pay Pouncey and Ben to go golfing than it is to play football.

Just shedding those two guys takes the Steelers from -$30.4 million on the 2021 cap to -$4.7 million (OTC uses a $180 million dollar cap figure). I realize it is still negative, but that is a TJ Watt extension away from being a + cap $$$ number.

VW is a bit of another story. He only saves a couple million bucks to pay him to not play. He might make sense to keep around for another year. Or do a weird extension to spread out his hit...