Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers have reported to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe for training camp, it’s a perfect time to update the team’s salary cap situation.
We have had a few changes since our last salary cap update with the signing of defensive end Cameron Heyward to a new long-term contract extension being the biggest one. As previously mentioned, Heyward’s 2015 cap charge went down $569,000 as a result of his new deal.
I have listed and formatted the contract numbers of each player below and the totals are bolded for you as usual. As you can see, I currently have the Steelers as being $8,076,701.00 under the cap entering training camp. However, the NFLPA currently has the team at $8,022,473 under. That’s a discrepancy of $54,228 and in all honesty, it’s not really worth finding. It might very well be an injury settlement of some sort that I missed.
Also, I need to point out to you the fact that I am no longer accounting for a Veteran Cap Credit Payback Charge of $1.125 million as I am unsure as to whether or not one will be on the books this year. For now, just keep that number filed away in the back of your head.
While the Steelers are currently $8 million under the cap, it’s important to remember that there will be a few more things that need to be accounted for in the future. First, being as we are still working with the Rule of 51, there will need to be two more players accounted for come the start of the regular season. To be on the safe side, I would count on both of those players costing $1.2 million combined.
In addition to the 52nd and 53rd players on the roster that will need to be accounted for, we also need to budget for a 10-man practice squad and that should amount to roughly another $1.122 million or so.
So far we have budgeted for another $2.322 million in future cap charges and that now has the Steelers with roughly $5.7 million in available cap space. Being as the team will likely want to go into the year with $2 million in available cap space in case they need in-season injury replacements, they realistically have roughly $3.7 million in available cap space to work with as we sit here today.
Even though Heyward has now been signed, there still could be one or two more extensions on the way. Tackle Kelvin Beachum would be an obvious choice and they have plenty of cap space to get that done. If you were to use my recent projection for a new Beachum contract, his new cap charge following an extension would be almost $3.7565 million. Now, he’s already on the books in 2015 for a charge of $1.542 million, so my projection would lead to him using up another $2.2145 million in available cap space. A deal such as the one I projected would essentially leave the Steelers with $1.4855 million in available cap space in addition to the $2 million in-season buffer. Of course, that number could shrink by another $1.125 million if the team has to account for the aforementioned Veteran Cap Credit Payback Charge.
Here is one other thing to keep in mind. Defensive lineman Cam Thomas is scheduled to earn $2 million in 2015. If he fails to make the make the final 53 man roster this season, the Steelers will more than likely free up around $1.5 million in cap space after displacement takes place.
| Player | Base Salary | Cap Charge |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Roethlisberger | $1,000,000 | $17,245,000 |
| Lawrence Timmons | $7,500,000 | $12,566,250 |
| Antonio Brown | $6,000,000 | $9,787,500 |
| Cortez Allen | $2,631,000 | $6,981,000 |
| Cameron Heyward | $1,000,000 | $6,400,000 |
| Heath Miller | $4,000,000 | $5,666,666 |
| Maurkice Pouncey | $745,000 | $4,296,000 |
| Shaun Suisham | $2,595,000 | $3,665,000 |
| Marcus Gilbert | $745,000 | $3,256,000 |
| Steve McLendon | $2,250,000 | $2,808,334 |
| Mike Mitchell | $745,000 | $2,508,750 |
| Cam Thomas | $2,000,000 | $2,500,000 |
| David DeCastro | $1,030,531 | $2,486,240 |
| Jarvis Jones | $1,196,410 | $2,374,228 |
| Ryan Shazier | $852,146 | $2,160,728 |
| Ramon Foster | $1,850,000 | $2,150,000 |
| Bruce Gradkowski | $1,550,000 | $1,833,334 |
| Bud Dupree | $435,000 | $1,676,779 |
| William Gay | $1,500,000 | $1,666,668 |
| Kelvin Beachum | $1,542,000 | $1,553,474 |
| Antwon Blake | $1,542,000 | $1,542,000 |
| Robert Golden | $1,542,000 | $1,542,000 |
| Will Johnson | $1,542,000 | $1,542,000 |
| Arthur Moats | $850,000 | $1,483,333 |
| DeAngelo Williams | $870,000 | $1,435,000 |
| Cody Wallace | $1,100,000 | $1,250,000 |
| James Harrison | $1,000,000 | $1,250,000 |
| Mike Adams | $873,225 | $1,127,525 |
| Le’Veon Bell | $779,600 | $1,123,800 |
| Matt Spaeth | $925,000 | $1,062,500 |
| Stephon Tuitt | $629,520 | $1,047,601 |
| Sean Spence | $680,000 | $816,345 |
| Markus Wheaton | $605,000 | $752,844 |
| Senquez Golson | $435,000 | $727,462 |
| Shamarko Thomas | $585,000 | $698,288 |
| Landry Jones | $585,000 | $694,805 |
| Clifton Geathers | $745,000 | $665,000 |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey | $745,000 | $665,000 |
| Greg Warren | $970,000 | $665,000 |
| Will Allen | $970,000 | $665,000 |
| Dri Archer | $518,000 | $644,504 |
| Martavis Bryant | $510,000 | $619,805 |
| Vince Williams | $585,000 | $604,670 |
| Sammie Coates | $435,000 | $592,879 |
| B.W. Webb | $585,000 | $585,000 |
| Matt Conrath | $585,000 | $585,000 |
| Michael Egnew | $585,000 | $585,000 |
| Ross Ventrone | $585,000 | $585,000 |
| Terence Garvin | $585,000 | $585,000 |
| Doran Grant | $435,000 | $557,253 |
| Daniel McCullers | $510,000 | $529,670 |
| Brad Wing | $510,000 | $510,000 |
| Chris Hubbard | $510,000 | $510,000 |
| Josh Harris | $510,000 | $510,000 |
| Jesse James | $435,000 | $487,228 |
| Leterrius Walton | $435,000 | $464,232 |
| Jordan Zumwalt | $435,000 | $461,213 |
| Anthony Chickillo | $435,000 | $457,621 |
| Gerod Holliman | $435,000 | $449,629 |
| B.J. Finney | $435,000 | $438,333 |
| Miles Dieffenbach | $435,000 | $437,666 |
| Shawn Lemon | $435,000 | $437,500 |
| Cameron Clear | $435,000 | $436,666 |
| Eli Rogers | $435,000 | $436,666 |
| Reese Dismukes | $435,000 | $436,666 |
| Ross Scheuerman | $435,000 | $436,666 |
| Tyler Murphy | $435,000 | $436,500 |
| Niko Davis | $435,000 | $435,833 |
| Cameron Stingily | $435,000 | $435,333 |
| Kevin Whimpey | $435,000 | $435,333 |
| Mike Thornton | $435,000 | $435,333 |
| Alden Darby | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Alejandro Villanueva | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| C.J. Goodwin | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Collin Rahrig | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Devin Gardner | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Ethan Hemer | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Howard Jones | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Ian Wild | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Isaiah Lewis | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Joe Kruger | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Jordan Berry | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Kelvin Palmer | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Kevin Fogg | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Mitchell Van Dyk | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Rob Blanchflower | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Roosevelt Nix | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Shakim Phillips | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Shayon Green | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Tajh Boyd | $435,000 | $435,000 |
| Total 90 Players Under Contract | $82,248,432 | $138,164,653 |
| Dead Money | ||
| Player | Cap Charge | |
| Lamarr Woodley | $8,580,000 | |
| Troy Polamalu | $4,500,000 | |
| LeGarrette Blount | $475,000 | |
| Lance Moore | $322,500 | |
| Brett Keisel | $250,000 | |
| Shaquille Richardson | $142,539 | |
| Wesley Johnson | $108,420 | |
| Rob Blanchflower | $44,550 | |
| Nick Williams | $28,924 | |
| David Paulson | $11,474 | |
| Howard Jones | $6,667 | |
| Eric Waters | $5,000 | |
| Josh Mauro | $5,000 | |
| Roy Philon | $4,000 | |
| Brendon Kay | $3,334 | |
| Ethan Hemer | $3,334 | |
| Will Simmons | $3,334 | |
| Chris Elkins | $2,667 | |
| Bradon Prate | $1,000 | |
| Total 19 Players Dead Money | $14,497,743 | |
| Total Rule Of 51 Number | $135,420,168.00 | |
| 2015 Salary Cap | $143,280,000.00 | |
| Rule Of 51 Under Cap | $7,859,832.00 | |
| 2014 Cap Rollover Credit | $778,469.00 | |
| Workout Bonus Charge | $561,600.00 | |
| Total Projected Cap Space Available | $8,076,701.00 | |
