General manager Kevin Colbert and his staff have been working through various scenarios with the Pittsburgh Steelers fragile salary cap position for months. The ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement – which is slated to take effect Wednesday – brings clarity to what is still a complicated situation.
Here’s the good news: The passage of the CBA eliminated the 30 percent rule, one that would’ve limited the amount of contract restructuring teams could do.
Here’s the bad news: The salary cap figure, $198.2 million, is significantly less than the $200 million-plus that was initially projected, and puts the Steelers $2.4 million in the red – according to OverTheCap.com.
Throughout the offseason, only the players with the 51 largest cap hits for the season will be counted toward the salary cap. The Steelers’ total cap number for their top 51 is roughly $204 million. This figure does not include any pending free agents (i.e., Mike Hilton, Matt Feiler, Zach Banner), nor does it cover the $16.26 million franchise tag that is likely to be placed on Bud Dupree.
There is plenty more that the total cap number for the top 51 does not incorporate, such as the rise in minimum salaries and rookie minimum wages. The cost of the expansion of rosters to 55 and practice squad to 12 players also adds to the cap number.
Colbert will need to get creative with the avenues toward cap-saving measures. Among the options will be to cut 2021 free agents Ramon Foster, Mark Barron, and Anthony Chickillo, and restructure contracts of key players like those of Ben Roethlisberger, Vance McDonald, Stephon Tuitt, and Joe Haden.
All clubs must be under the salary cap before the start of the 2020 league year and free agency, which begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. eastern.
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