NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers Salary Cap: How much cap space do they have in 2021?
How much cap space will the Pittsburgh Steelers have in their salary cap for the 2021 season NFL draft?
With the 2021 NFL Draft set to get underway in less than 2 weeks (April 29 - May 1), it's getting close to the second time during the offseason that franchise teams need to pay special attention to their finances.
NFL officials will have all 32 franchise teams under inspection before the kick-off of the new season in September, and teams that mistakenly go over the salary cap limit will risk possible financial penalties or even the loss of future draft picks.
The Steelers, along with all franchise teams in the NFL, must strive to ensure they come in under the $182.5 million salary cap limit.
As part of the roster reshuffle for the Steelers thus far, veteran C Maurkice Pouncey and TE Vance McDonald have retired. QB Ben Roethlisberger and DT Cameron Heyward have agreed to contract restructurings. These changes combined to chalk off $34 million from their the wage bill.
Several top players have also left the Steel City as free agents. LB Bud Dupree (Titans); CB Mike Hilton (Bengals); James Conner (Cardinals) and LT Alejandro Villanueva (free agent) were among those to depart, as Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin were forced to reshape their team.
How much cap space do the Pittsburgh Steelers have ahead of the 2021 NFL season?
Spotrac.com states that as of April 18,2021, the Pittsburgh Steelers' current estimated cap space is -$3,986,797 but that the estimated cap space once coach Tomlin and co. trim the squad down to the final 51 will be $11,253,203.
As such, the Steelers head into the 2021 NFL Draft with a noticeably depleted roster, but in a much better financial situation.
Who is the highest-paid Pittsburgh Steelers player in 2021?
The player with the highest cap hit against the Steelers' roster (and that's despite the contract restructuring mentioned earlier) is veteran QB Ben Roethlisberger. He will earn most of his money this year (almost $26 million) courtesy of signing and contract-restructuring bonuses.
"Big Ben" is still well remunerated for his services even though the contracts have been reshaped to balance the books.
LB T.J. Watt is the highest paid player on the Steelers roster. The defensive playmaker carries a base salary and cap hit of just over $10 million!
Also check out: Complete 2017 NFL Draft Results