Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers, like every NFL team, must spend at least 90% of the salary cap on a rolling multi-year basis. The rule is one of the major tenets of the NFL’s revenue sharing and salary cap system, which prevents teams from accepting large revenue sharing checks from the league and not returning them to the playing field in the form of salaries.
It has been suggested by some that the Steelers’ compliance with the 90% cash spending rule is in some way related to the team’s pursuit of a contract extension with star outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
That just simply isn’t true.
Last season was the first year of the current, three-year compliance period. The Steelers spent just over $230 million last season. The salary cap was just over $255 million, putting the Steelers just over the 90% threshold.
Obviously, what the Steelers will spend in 2025 is currently and unknown and could be extremely variable, depending on potential future moves, who makes the team, et cetera. We also do not know how much the Steelers will be spending this year on Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith. But it seems very unlikely that they will spend less than $240 million with roster constructed the way it is.
It could be significantly more if Ramsey and/or Smith were given large signing bonuses as part of a new deal, or if the Steelers make any other major additions like a free safety or a wide receiver.
But even assuming the worst-case of $240 million as a floor, that would put the Steelers at 86% of the cap in cash spending — about $11 million behind. There is no mandate for the Steelers to get to 90% this offseason. They could carry that shortage into 2026, when the team expects to be even more active than it was this offseason in terms of handing out free agent contracts.
If the Steelers don’t extend Watt, they could move up some money in Metcalf’s contract. They could sign Calvin Austin III or Jaylen Warren or Chris Boswell to a big contract extension instead. They could sign the most expensive free safety and wide receiver left on the market this offseason. They could also do the same next offseason, or make any number of trades, sign the top guard in the market to replace Isaac Seumalo, give big contract extensions to the likes of Patrick Queen or Joey Porter Jr. — there are literally too many ways to count for the Steelers to become complaint with the rule that do not involve spending a dime more than already committed to Watt.
Now, it is true that NFL encourages teams to exceed the 90% threshold and at least get to 95%, and the Steelers have traditionally done so. But as we have seen many, many times recently, just because the Steelers traditionally do things a certain way does not mean that they always will.
They have no statutory need to exceed the 90% threshold, and they...
