Category Archives: Steelers Salary Cap

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Steelers Re-Sign G/T Guy Whimper To One Year Deal

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The Steelers have re-signed free agent offensive lineman Guy Whimper today. While the details of the deal haven’t been disclosed, it is a one year deal. I’d expect that it will be a minimum salary, with little to no signing bonus. It could likely be a $65,000 signing bonus, which would make the signing qualify for the minimum salary benefit.

The move comes as a low risk depth addition. While the 30 year old G/T isn’t a reliable starter, he provides cheap multi-positional depth. Whimper was originally signed by the Steelers last spring, after being released by the Jaguars. Affectionately nicknamed “Abdullah the Butcher” by Coach Tomlin, the offensive lineman saw two starts last season- one at right guard (NE), one at left (DET). He also saw spot duty at OT.

Whimper saw a total of 270 snaps last season, and allowed 3 sacks.

Contract Details For Al Woods

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Al Woods signed with the Tennessee Titans last night. I have the contract details for you now, and I can say that he likely signed that contract as soon as the paper hit the table. The deal totaled $5 Mil, including a $1 Mil guaranteed signing bonus.

His first year salary is $900,000, and his second year salary is $2.1 million. The deal also includes up to $500,000 per year in incentives. While I like Woods as a versatile backup/role player, this is a lot for him. While many people are critical of the Steelers free agent moves, it’s easy to see that they are being smart with their own free agents so far.

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Ziggy Hood’s Contract Details

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Now that the dust has settled, I can provide you with the details of Ziggy Hood’s contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Before I do, I can tell you that there’s no way that the Steelers would place that kind of value on him, which would be why it appears that they just ‘let him go’.

His contract is a 4 year deal, totaling $16 Mil. $5.5 Mil is fully guaranteed. There is a $2 Mil roster bonus due in 2014- $2 Mil of his 2014 salary is fully guaranteed.

Looking at the other contracts the Jaguars are issuing, it appears that they are on a spending spree. There is just no way the Steelers would give Hood this kind of deal.

Report: Steelers To Release LaMarr Woodley On Tuesday

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According to Adam Schefter, the Stelers plan to release LaMarr Woodley at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, the official beginning of the new league year. Woodley’s representation has confirmed that he has been told he will be released.

The team will designate Woodley a “June 1st” cut. This will allow the team to accelerate the remaining guaranteed balance to next year, as opposed to all of it accelerating immediately. Woodley carries a $13.59 salary cap number this year, and the team will be responsible for that number until June 2nd. This will not help clear any space to sign free agents immediately. After June 1st, his base salary will come off the books, freeing up $8 Mil in cap space for 2014.

The $8 Mil in cap space will help sign the rookie pool, summer insurance signings, and more.  After June 1st, the team will carry a dead money charge of $5.59 Mil this year from the release, and $8.58 Mil in 2015. The team also saves $25 and a half Mil they would have had to pay during the remainder of his contract.

Will Allen’s Contract Details And Steelers Salary Cap Update

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The Steelers re-signed veteran free agent safety Will Allen on Wednesday, but the contract details were not available.  According to reports, his deal was indeed what I expected, a one year dear for the veteran minimum, with no signing bonus. The minimum for Allen this year is $955,000.

Knowing this, I can give you a pretty accurate update on the Steelers salary cap situation. Allen’s $955,000 base salary will displace $420,000 from the current Top 51, making his signing effectively count for only $535,000. Factoring that in to the numbers I provided yesterday after the restructure of Antonio Brown, the Steelers should have a hair under $2.5 Mil in available cap space at the time of this writing.

Going into free agency, the team is going to want to have more money to play with than that. As you’d expect, we should be hearing news on Ike Taylor very soon. Either a reduction in his 2014 salary, or his release. I would imagine he will agree to some form of contract renegotiation that frees up a minimum somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 Mil. The restructure of Lawrence Timmons’ contract is also an easy option for the team to clear more cap space. While they may go for a full restructure to free up almost $4 Mil, I’m expecting that they won’t want to do that right now.

Steelers Restructure Antonio Brown’s Contract

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As expected, the Steelers have restructured Antonio Brown’s contract, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. According to Schefter, the restructuring clears $4 Mil in 2014 cap space. While it’s close to that, the maximum cap savings available by restructuring AB is $3,952,500.

While there are no official numbers yet, I can break down what the move likely looks like. Here’s a before and after:

[table]

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

“Brown, Antonio”, 2014, “$6,000,000”, “$2,470,000”, “$8,470,000”

[/table]

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[table]

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

“Brown, Antonio”, 2014, “$730,000”, “$3,787,500”, “$4,517,500”

[/table]

 

This move should put the Steelers in the neighborhood of $3.5 Mil under the $133 Mil salary cap. Expect more moves in the future. Lawrence Timmons is a prime restructure candidate, though, I don’t expect he’ll be max restructured like Antonio Brown was. Releasing or renegotiating with Ike Taylor will clear significant cap room. Signing Jason Worilds to a long term deal will clear additional room, as well.  Extending Ben Roethlisberger could easily clear 4-5 Mil in cap space, though that is not an immediate need for the team.

Breaking Down Troy Polamalu’s Contract Extension

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The Steelers extended Troy Polamalu’s contract yesterday, keeping him under contract through 2016. The details of the extension weren’t immediately available, but I can break the down for you now. The 3 year deal has a total value of $20 Mil, and includes a $6.75 Mil guaranteed signing bonus. His 2014 base salary goes down from $8.25 Mil to $1.5 Mil. The new deal clears $4.5 Mil in cap space for the Steelers in 2014.

Here is a before and after of his salary cap numbers:

[table]

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

“Polamalu, Troy”, 2014, “$8,250,000”, “$2,637,500”, “$10,887,500”

[/table]

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[table]

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

“Polamalu, Troy”, 2014, “$1,500,000”, “$4,887,500”, “$6,387,500”

“Polamalu, Troy”, 2015, “$6,000,000”, “$2,250,000”, “$8,250,000”

“Polamalu, Troy”, 2016, “$5,750,000”, “$2,250,000”, “$8,000,000”

[/table]

Steelers Make More Cuts As They Work Towards Cap Compliance

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The Steelers have trimmed more salary cap space today by releasing/waiving OT Levi Brown, CB Curtis Brown, and LB Larry Foote. These moves, along with the extensions of Troy and Heath, should have them just above the $133 Mil salary cap. It’s hard to say exactly, because we do not know Will Allen’s exact contract details, nor do we have the exact details of Troy’s extension.

Levi Brown

Levi Brown was acquired through trade during last season from the Arizona Cardinals. His contract was virtually risk free, and he was an easy choice for cutting. He injured his triceps muscle during pre-game warm ups last October, and never played a down in Pittsburgh. Cutting him cleared $6.25 Mil in cap space. He was listed as a “Failed Physical” designation on the official transaction sheet.

Curtis Brown

Curtis Brown was drafted by the Steelers in the 3rd round of the 2011 draft. He’s been injured frequently, and disappointing at times when he was on the field. His waiving cleared $645,000 in cap space, but added $130,300 in dead money. He was listed as waived with the “Failed Physical” designation, as well. He underwent ACL surgery in January, so that would make sense.

Larry Foote

Larry Foote signed a 3 year deal with Pittsburgh in 2013. He had two years remaining, but his relatively low signing bonus made him an easy candidate for a cap savings cut. That, his age, and his September biceps surgery that is. Foote was set to count $1,833,333 towards the 2014 cap, and releasing him cleared $1,166,666 in cap space. Cutting him added $666,667 in dead money. Don’t be too surprised if he’s back at some point down the road. I’m not saying he’ll be back, but don’t be shocked if he is.

Steelers And Troy Polamalu Agree On Extension Through 2016

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The Steelers have announced that they have extended Troy Polamalu’s contract through 2016. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The team needs to free up cap space this year, and Troy was coming on the final year of his contract. His 2014 salary cap number was a whopping $10,887,500.

I’ll report the specific numbers when I have them over the next few days, but I expect his extension to be similar to Heath’s, in that his 2014 salary, or a big portion of it, was converted to a cash signing bonus. It’s difficult to speculate exactly how much it will free up, but I would think it has to be at least in the neighborhood of 4 to 5 million.

A Breakdown Of Heath Miller’s Contract Extension

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It was reported that the Steelers and Heath Miller agreed on contract rework earlier this week, but the details were not available. As I said previously, it was indeed an extension that lowered his 2014 cap number. He is now under contract with the Steelers through 2016. Here is a before and after of the numbers.

[table]

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

“Miller, Heath”, 2014, “$6,020,000”, “$3,446,500”, “$9,466,500”

[/table]
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[table]

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

“Miller, Heath”, 2014, “$1,020,000”, “$5,113,166”, “$6,133,166”
“Miller, Heath”, 2015, “$4,000,000”, “$1,666,666”, “$5,666,666”
“Miller, Heath”, 2016, “$4,000,000”, “$1,666,666”, “$5,666,668”

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As you can see, the extension lowers Heath’s salary cap hit for 2014, clearing $3,333,334 in cap space to be exact.