Category Archives: Steelers Contracts

Cortez Allen contract

Breaking Down Brett Keisel’s 2 Year Contract

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The Steelers re-signed Brett Keisel to a two year deal yesterday. As is almost always the case, the financial details weren’t immediately available, but I have them for you now. Here is a breakdown of his contract. The two year deal is for $3 Mil, including a $500K signing bonus.

[table]

Player, Year, Base Salary, Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number, Dead Money, Savings If Cut

“Keisel, Brett”, 2014, “$1,000,000”, “$250,000”, “$1,250,000”, “$500,000”, “$2,500,000”
“Keisel, Brett”, 2015, “$1,500,000”, “$250,000”, “$1,750,000”, “$250,000”, “$1,500,000”

[/table]

As you can see, the deal is structured to make the veteran defensive lineman’s contract easily fungible next season.

Marcus-Gilbert

Steelers Extend RT Marcus Gilbert

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The Steelers have extending right tackle Marcus Gilbert. The financial specifics are not immediately available of course, but the new deal is for 6 years. Sources indicate that the 6 year deal is for $30 Mil. I wrote recently that his deal should be in the $5 Mil per year range. We’ll have to wait to see what the guarantees are, which is all that’s truly important. This extension makes Pouncey and Gilbert both under contract through 2019.

https://twitter.com/steelers/status/501832537811853312

Gilbert has had his struggles, but he’s definitely shown improvement since Mike Munchak was brought on board. About the extension Gilbert said via the Steelers website, “It means I am locked in hopefully as a Steeler for the rest of my career. It’s a blessing to work for a great organization, the Rooney family, Kevin Colbert and Coach Tomlin. Just to be around in Pittsburgh, where they show you so much love, I couldn’t be happier and in a better place.”

Gilbert is the only lineman who started every game in 2013.

steelers contracts

Breaking Down Shaun Suisham’s Contract Extension

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The Steelers extended kicker Shaun Suisham last week. The contract details were not available when the extension was announced, but I can provide them for you now.

Suisham’s new deal contains $12.575 million in new money, and includes a $2.85 million guaranteed signing bonus. Suisham can also earn a $500,000 roster bonus in 2015. The deal should make Suisham the 10th highest paid kicker. Here is a breakdown of the contract by year.

[table]

Year, Base Salary, Prorated Bonus, Roster Bonus, Cap Hit, Dead Money

2014, “$855,000″,”$907,500″,”$0″,”$1,762,500”, “$3,187,500”

2015, “$2,595,000″,”$570,000″,”$500,000″,”$3.665,000”, “$2,280,000”

2016, “2,400,000”,”$570,000″,”$0″,”$2,970,000″, “$1,710,000”

2017, “$2,400,000″,”$570,000″,”$0″,”$2,970,000”, “$1,140,000”

2018, “2,400,000”,”$570,000″,”$0″,”$2,970,000″, “$570,000”

[/table]

 

You may or may not agree, but the contract is a little on the high side. As you can see though, the team can move on from Suisham before the end of the contract without too much of a negative cap impact, should they feel the need to do so.

steelers contracts

Steelers Actively Negotiating A Roethlisberger Extension

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Ben Roethlisberger’s agent, Ryan Tollner, says that contract negotiations have been ongoing between the Steelers and Roethlisberger’s camp. In an interview with ESPN, the Rep1Sports agent said, “There’s been ongoing (contract) discussions for quite awhile…I think from the time we did the first extension there was sort of a plan moving forward.” He went on to say, “There’s a plan in place, but both sides are pretty committed to doing that privately and not having it be something that’s discussed in the media.”

It seems that lately many have forgotten how the Steelers do business. Quietly. Privately. Out of the spotlight. So often people leap to believe rumors about an organization so notoriously tight lipped.

It doesn’t seem like that long ago when Ian Rapoport was reporting a trade was in Ben’s future, even when Ben insisted he wanted to stay in Pittsbugh and retire a Steeler. General Manager Kevin Colbert and Art Rooney II also emphatically asserted that having him retire in Pittsburgh was a priority. Colbert went as far as to say, “It’s unanimous that we want Ben to be a Steeler for the rest of his career.”

While extending Roethlisberger could easily reduce his 2014 cap number of $18.895 Mil by $4 Mil or more, doing so isn’t nearly as urgent as it seemed just a couple months ago. With the 2014 salary cap being considerably higher than what was projected, and LaMarr Woodley’s $8 Mil base salary coming off the books after June 1st, the team can afford to take their time working on an extension with their franchise quarterback.

While many believe that Ben is going demand/get “Flacco money”, I don’t believe it’s the likely scenario. His agent will surely want to hit that $20 Mil/year magic number, but the contract can (and should likely) be structured to average in the range of $17.5-$18 Mil/year. New money being what’s most important, a 4 year extension in the neighborhood of $80 Mil would satisfy that $20 Mil/year average, but including the last 2 years of his existing contract, you’re looking at the lower average mentioned above.

Since there is no real rush to extend Ben Roethlisberger, don’t expect to hear any news soon. While they certainly could reach a deal this summer, it may well be that they wait until next spring to finalize an extension.

David Decastro contract

Steelers Pick Up 5th Year Option On Cam Heyward’s Rookie Contract

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The Steelers announce this morning that they have exercised the fifth year option of DE Cam Heyward’s rookie contract.

There was some confusion about this on the web Monday, as NFL reporter Albert Breer mistakenly said that the team had picked up the option yesterday. By picking up the option, the team retains the rights to Hewyard through 2015. If they do not extend him before the 2015 season, he will earn a salary of $6.969 Mil, which is only guaranteed through injury. The price of the 5th year option is a little over half of what a franchise tag for defensive ends would cost.

While they could in theory release him after the 2014 season without risk, the team is going to want to work towards a long term extension with the defensive end.

Cortez Allen contract

Steelers Exercise Fifth Year Option For Cam Heyward

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The Steelers have exercised the fifth year option for Cam Heyward’s contract according to NFL reports.


The team had until May 3rd to pick up the option. By doing so, they retain the rights to him for an additional year for a salary of $6.969 Mil. That salary is considerably less than a franchise tag would be, so the option makes sense.

The salary is only guaranteed to injury, and the player can be released prior to the start of the 2015 season without penalty. The Steelers will obviously want to extend Heyward before that time.

David Decastro contract

Adam Podlesh Contract Appears To Have Been Without A Signing Bonus

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The Steelers signed veteran punter Adam Podlesh last week. When they announced the signing, I mentioned that it would qualify for the veteran minimum benefit. I also opined that it may not have included a signing bonus, which appears to indeed be the case.

While the contract details have not been released yet, the NFLPA salary report shows a difference of $75,000- the lowest amount his contract could count towards the cap without a signing bonus. Due to the vet minimum benefit, his $855,000 salary only counts $570,000 towards the cap. After displacing a low $495,000 contract from the top 51, his signing only moves the cap needle by $75,000. Based on that data, the Steelers now have roughly $300,000 in salary cap space.

Podlesh signed a 5 year, $10 Mil deal with the Bears in 2011, but was released last month. The move saved the Bears $1.025 Mil. Since the signing appears to have not included a signing bonus, the Steelers can release him at any time without incurring any dead money. Thanks for stopping by, and as always, thanks for sharing on the web.

Cortez Allen contract

A Look At LeGarrette Blount’s Contract Details

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The general details of newly signed Steelers running back LeGarrette Blount’s contract have been released. The two year deal is for $3.85 Mil, including a guaranteed signing bonus of $950,000.  The deal also includes a performance incentive of $150,000, which Blount can earn if he gains 800 yards in the upcoming season.

While I do not know the specifics yet, it’s possible that his signing could move the salary cap needle as little as $785,000, leaving the Steelers with over $600,000 in salary cap space (ball park). Here’s a look at how it could likely be set up, and an explanation of the cap estimate.

[table]

Player, Year, Base Salary, Signing Bonus, Salary Cap Number

“Blount, LeGarrette”, 2014, “$730,000”, “$475,000”, “$1,205,000”

“Blount, LeGarrette”, 2015, “$2,170,000”, “$475,000”, “$2,645,000”

[/table]

While I can’t promise his 2014 base salary will be quite that low, you can be certain it will be structured similarly. Using this model, after displacing a low minimum salary from the top 51 (420 K), the salary cap impact  right now would only be $785,000. The Steelers are currently sitting at a little over $1.4 Mil in salary cap space. So, the signing of LeGarrette Blount could leave the Steelers with just under $700,000. I’ll update this when this year’s base salary number is available. However you cut it, this was a good signing at a good price.

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, be sure to share with your friends.

Steelers Re-Sign Greg Warren And Cody Wallace

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The Steelers announce that they have re-signed LS Greg Warren and OL Cody Wallace. The Steelers originally signed Warren as an UDFA in 2005, and he has been with the team ever since. His signing is for 1 year, most likely for the veteran minimum and apx. a $65,000 signing bonus.

Cody Wallace has been signed to a 3 year deal. Don’t expect this contract to break the bank either. Wallace played in 9 games for the Steelers in 2013. He’s shown versatility as a swing man, who can play both guard and center. Wallace was originally drafted by the 49ers in the 4th round of the 2008 draft, and spent 2 years there. After that, he bounced around on practice squads for a couple seasons before ultimately being signed by the Steelers last year.

He’s described as a soft spoken man who plays with a mean streak. No doubt most of Steeler Nation remembers the play that made him famous last year.

Report: Ike Taylor Took A $4.25 Million Salary Reduction

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Jason La Canfora reports that Ike Taylor has renegotiated his contract with the Steelers. La Canfora states that Ike’s new deal is for one year at $2.75 Mil. His previous base salary was $7Mil. Doing the math here, that’s a $4.25 Mil pay cut for Taylor. The Steelers are still on the hook for his signing bonus money of almost $5 Mil, that doesn’t just go away, but clearing $4.25 Mil in cap space is as good as the team could hope for.

If this is true, it takes Ike’s 2014 cap number from $11,942,404 down to $7,692,404. It’s hard to say if the Steelers reported interest in various CB’s helped negotiations or not. Either way, Ike certainly must have known that he was going to see a reduced value if he hit the crowded free agent market.

The Steelers now have some cap room to work with for signing free agents…namely their own.