The Pittsburgh Steelers are off on Monday and with this being the first lull in their 2024 training camp, it’s a perfect time to look at the team’s current cash spending situation and whether we should expect that amount to grow in the next 41 days.
The Steelers currently have 91 players under contract. However, to get a better representation of cash spending, we need to look at the top 53 cash expenditures of the players currently under contract, in addition to those outside of that cutoff point who were paid signing bonuses this offseason.
At the bottom of this post is a list of 59 players. It includes the top 53 cash charges right now and six more players outside of that cutoff that were given signing bonuses this offseason. All told, those 59 players total out at $202,690,312.
Don’t get caught up with players not listed in the table that are sure to make the 53-man roster (Jaylen Warren, Nick Herbig, etc.). Sure, those players will eventually count, but they will only replace some players currently in the top 53. There will be some offset there, but it won’t likely be a huge amount in the grand scheme of things.
The Steelers will also ultimately carry a 17-man practice squad to start the 2024 season, so we need to set aside roughly another $4 million in cash for that. Offseason workout bonus amounts will soon be known as well, and that amount should come in well under $1 million.
Altogether, the Steelers are on pace to have a rough cash spending total of $208 million. It might be a little more or a little less. Some players could also need to start the regular season on the Reserve/Injured list, and if that happens, the cash total will increase just a bit.
To be on the safe side, let’s add $2 million to the $208 million as a buffer. That brings us to a projected cash spending total of $210 million. The NFL salary cap number this year is $255.4 million, so the Steelers are on pace to spend 82.2 percent of that amount in cash.
In 2021, the first year of that three-year CBA period, the Steelers spent 88.6 percent of the cap number in cash. To reach that same percentage this year, they would need to spend roughly $16.3 million more in cash.
League-wide, the Steelers currently rank right near the bottom when it comes to current cash spending for 2024. In fact, Over the Cap currently has the Steelers ranked 30th overall in the NFL in current cash spending totals at $236,613,672. That amount, however, takes into account ALL players currently under contract and not just the top 53 players, plus the signing bonus overhang. The Dallas Cowboys are currently ranked last in cash spending for 2024, but that could change very soon should they get a lucrative contract extension or two done.
So, will the Steelers ultimately spend more cash in the next 41 days? I am convinced they will. At a minimum, I expect the Steelers to sign TE Pat Freiermuth to a contract extension prior to the start of the 2024 regular season. How much additional cash will that require for 2024? Probably somewhere around $13 million, give or take.
Way back in March, my initial prediction was for the Steelers to spend $235 million in cash for the 2024 season. As of right now, they are roughly $24 million shy of doing so. Should Freiermuth indeed sign a contract extension, however, the Steelers should be right around $10 million away from my predicted amount.
It will also be interesting to see what ultimately happens with DT Cameron Heyward in the next 41 days. I still expect him to sign a contract extension at this point. Even so, any extension that he might sign isn’t likely to increase his $16 million cash amount that is already on the books for 2024 by much, if any.
Then there is RB Najee Harris. Yes, I realize the smart bet right now is still for him not to sign a contract extension prior to the start of the 2024 regular season. Should, however, Harris ultimately sign an extension in the next 41 days, I suspect his new additional cash to be right around $8 million. In short, the math still maths with my math for such an extension to occur.
Outside of possible Freiermuth, Heyward, and Harris contract extensions, the only way the Steelers will experience a huge additional cash expenditure moving forward is if they sign or trade for an expensive player. A wide receiver perhaps fits that possibility perfectly. That obviously is hard to predict happening right now. Even so, the Steelers certainly could still afford to add via a signing or trade from both cash and salary cap perspectives.
So, what is the best way to end this post? Honestly, the best way to end it is to tell you that you should expect more cash spending to happen for the Steelers before the start of the 2024 regular season. How much more is the biggest question. I will be a bit surprised if the Steelers wind up spending more than $235 million in cash in 2024. That said, there is nothing to say that they can’t or won’t do that. If they do wind up spending more than that amount, it’s a good bet that it was a result of them trading for an expensive wide receiver.
TOP 53 CASH TOTALS FOR 2024 BY PLAYER
