Now that the league has set the official salary cap number for the 2016 season, I thought I would provide you a full update as to where I currently have the Pittsburgh Steelers at as of Friday evening.
As you can see in the table below, tight end Heath Miller is no longer listed due to him retiring a week ago. While the Steelers will save the $4 million salary that Miller was scheduled to earn in 2016, his retirement still carries a dead money charge of $3,181,668 and when you add that to other $765,188 the team has on the books that is dead, you get a new grand total of $3,946,856.
You will also notice that the base salary and cap charge of wide receiver Markus Wheaton has slightly been altered since my last full update and that is a result of us now knowing what his base will likely be now that the cap number has been established. Remember, Wheaton qualified for a Proven Performance Escalator in 2016 which will be equal to the salary of the lowest Restricted Free Agent tender. That number should be 1,671,000 based on a $155.27 Million salary cap.
Currently, the Steelers top 51 cap charges equate to $142,758,854 and then we must add the $3,946,856 in total dead money to that. In the table below, I have also added on the projected cap credit payback charge that I believe the Steelers will have in 2016 in addition to the projected standard workout bonuses. After you do all of the math, you will see that I have the Steelers at $9,878,017 under the $155,270,000 cap number.
Now, please keep in mind that the Steelers will need roughly $7.2 million in cap space in order to accommodate their seven draft picks, 10-man practice squad, final two roster spots and emergency $3 million in available salary cap space for injuries. Based on all of that, you can clearly see that a lot more cap space needs to be created in the future.
As I have posted several times already this offseason, I expect quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and defensive end Cameron Heyward will have their contracts restructured in the coming weeks. They might not be the only players, however, so that means center Maurkice Pouncey, safety Mike Mitchell and tackle Marcus Gilbert should also be viewed as potential candidates for restructuring. Additionally, you can bet that something will be done with linebacker Lawrence Timmons as he’s likely to have his 2016 cap number lowered via an extension. On top of that, a new contract for guard David DeCastro at some point during the offseason will result in him having a lower cap charge in 2016.
When the Steelers return from the combine, expect a few things to happen quickly and I’ll make sure to keep you updated on their cap situation as these events occur.
| PLAYER | BASE SALARY | CAP CHARGE |
|---|---|---|
| Roethlisberger, Ben | $17,750,000 | $23,950,000 |
| Timmons, Lawrence | $8,750,000 | $15,131,250 |
| Brown, Antonio | $6,250,000 | $12,370,833 |
| Pouncey, Maurkice | $3,500,000 | $10,551,000 |
| Heyward, Cameron | $3,000,000 | $10,400,000 |
| DeCastro, David | $8,070,000 | $8,070,000 |
| Mitchell, Mike | $5,000,000 | $6,763,750 |
| Gilbert, Marcus | $3,950,000 | $6,461,000 |
| Allen, Cortez | $4,400,000 | $5,750,000 |
| Suisham, Shaun | $2,400,000 | $3,503,000 |
| Moats, Arthur | $2,500,000 | $3,133,333 |
| Jones, Jarvis | $1,592,115 | $2,769,933 |
| Shazier, Ryan | $1,284,292 | $2,592,874 |
| Williams, DeAngelo | $2,000,000 | $2,565,000 |
| Dupree, Bud | $854,195 | $2,095,974 |
| Wheaton, Markus | 1,671,000 | $1,818,844 |
| Harrison, James | $1,250,000 | $1,500,000 |
| Wallace, Cody | $1,200,000 | $1,350,000 |
| Bell, Le’Veon | $966,900 | $1,311,100 |
| Tuitt, Stephon | $839,040 | $1,257,121 |
| Spaeth, Matt | $1,000,000 | $1,137,500 |
| Golson, Senquez | $616,866 | $909,328 |
| Adams, Mike | $873,225 | $873,225 |
| Thomas, Shamarko | $675,000 | $788,288 |
| Jones, Landry | $675,000 | $784,805 |
| Bryant, Martavis | $600,000 | $709,805 |
| Coates, Sammie | $525,000 | $706,879 |
| Williams, Vince | $675,000 | $694,670 |
| Warren, Greg | $985,000 | $680,000 |
| Ventrone, Ross | $675,000 | $675,000 |
| Zumwalt, Jordan | $600,000 | $626,213 |
| McCullers, Daniel | $600,000 | $619,670 |
| Cockrell, Ross | $600,000 | $600,000 |
| Frey, Isaiah | $600,000 | $600,000 |
| Hubbard, Chris | $600,000 | $600,000 |
| Richardson, Daryl | $600,000 | $600,000 |
| Toussaint, Fitzgerald | $600,000 | $600,000 |
| James, Jesse | $525,000 | $577,228 |
| Walton, L.T. | $525,000 | $554,232 |
| Berry, Jordan | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Boswell, Chris | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Chickillo, Anthony | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Fort, L.J. | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Grant, Doran | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Lyons, Caushaud | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Nix, Roosevelt | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Vaughan, Dustin | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Villanueva, Alejandro | $525,000 | $525,000 |
| Rogers, Eli | $450,000 | $451,666 |
| Hatchie, Micah | $450,000 | $450,333 |
| Blakeney, Issac | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Dangerfield, Jordan | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Dooley, Matt | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Feiler, Matt | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Finney, B.J. | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Garner, Montell | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Grimble, Xavier | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Hagen, Jacob | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Hooks, Lavon | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Long, Ty | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Manhart, Cole | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Mihalik, Brian | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Neal, Rajion | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Norwood, Levi | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Palmer, Tobais | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Philon, Roy | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Phillips, Shakim | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Shabazz, Al-Hajj | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Toure, Abou | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| Vinopal, Ray | $450,000 | $450,000 |
| TOP 51 CONTRACTS | * | $142,758,854 |
| DEAD MONEY | * | $3,946,856 |
| PROJECTED CAP CREDIT PAYBACK | * | $1,125,000 |
| PROJECTED WORKOUT BONUSES | * | $561,600 |
| 2015 ROLLOVER | * | $3,000,327 |
| PROJECTED 2016 SALARY CAP | * | $155,270,000 |
| UNDER SALARY CAP | * | $9,878,017 |
