Steelers Shave $8 Million From Salary Cap With Restructured Roethlisberger Contract

so technically

we are under the cap now right?

With Hampton, Ward, Smith, Farrier, and Foote left to be dealt with and a couple other possible moves, its not hard to see how we have space for a long term Mike Wallace deal.

I love the Steelers.

by tannofsteel84 on Feb 23, 2012 5:16 PM EST reply actions

We will need more room

We still have rookies and probably a UFA or two to sign to fill any holes before the draft.

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by Cold_Old_Steelers_Fan on Feb 23, 2012 5:19 PM EST up reply actions

The immediate concern for the Steelers, is getting under the salary cap by the start of the 2012 league year, which is March 13th. They will need to make moves to clear space to sign rookies, but those moves don’t need to be done immediately, and can be put off until closer to training camp.

by Greig Clawson on Feb 23, 2012 5:31 PM EST up reply actions

I see us signing at most two UFA

or maybe one guys at 3 mil per year, hopefully a G.

I love the Steelers.

by tannofsteel84 on Feb 24, 2012 10:37 AM EST up reply actions

hopefully a G.

Heyell yeyahh .A straight up G

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by FrankWyt on Feb 24, 2012 3:31 PM EST up reply actions

Nuthin but a G

Pittsburgh Steelers fan - nuff said.
Miami Hurricanes fan - nuff said.
Georgetown Hoyas fan - nuff said.
Cleveland Cavaliers fan - um yeah, about that...

by StoneColdSteel on Feb 25, 2012 1:42 AM EST up reply actions

I think that is about right

One or two guys at $1to 3 million each plus RFA plus rookies. It adds up. A million here, a million there and pretty soon you are talking about real money! This from a guy who will never have a $1 million unless he wins a lottery (my only rich aunt left the money to someone else).

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by Cold_Old_Steelers_Fan on Feb 24, 2012 3:49 PM EST up reply actions

and

for RFA tenders

by Steely McSmash on Feb 24, 2012 12:55 PM EST up reply actions

My thoughts exactly

And we still haven’t seen a restructure by James Harrison which has been reported. Looks like they could get 10+ million under the cap before the draft. Insanely good job by Khan.

by Michael Uhlhorn on Feb 23, 2012 5:20 PM EST up reply actions

William Gay yet, too.

They probably want to sign Gay back yet. But Wallace will still be #1 priority.

by Steel Ferret on Feb 23, 2012 5:26 PM EST reply actions

thats true.

by tkired on Feb 24, 2012 2:05 AM EST up reply actions

Conversation probably went like this:

Khan and Colbert: sigh Ben, do you want to keep Wallace or not?
Ben: opens wallet How much you want?

Seriously, I bet that once they asked it wasn’t much of a fight if any at all. If there’s anything Ben likes, it’s a wide open wide receiver deep.

by BlueLoneWolf on Feb 23, 2012 5:30 PM EST reply actions

More like

Ben, we can cut you a check for $8M right now, or pay it out to you over the course of the season.

by Greig Clawson on Feb 23, 2012 5:34 PM EST up reply actions

Sorry

That should be $10.7M, not $8M.

by Greig Clawson on Feb 23, 2012 5:38 PM EST up reply actions

There was a report Ben was at the training facility this last week for all of 5 minutes.

2 minutes from car to office
1 minute for conversation + his answer
2 minutes back to car

I’m imagining that’s what happened :)

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by Fifty-Eight on Feb 24, 2012 12:04 AM EST via mobile up reply actions

Any idea if Ben saved/lost guaranteed money overall?

by jedmiller71 on Feb 23, 2012 5:32 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Check the link in there to Brian McIntyre's post

Here’s the salient points:

According to NFLPA records, Roethlisberger’s $11.6 million base salary in 2012 has been reduced to $900,000, with the remaining $10.7 million likely converted to a signing bonus that will be prorated over the four remaining seasons of his contract. The move would reduce Roethlisberger’s cap number from $16.92 million to $8.895 million, a savings of over $8 million for the cap-strapped Steelers, with $2.675 million added to his cap numbers from 2013-15.

Roethlisberger’s 2013 cap number now stands at $19.595 million.

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by barnerburner on Feb 23, 2012 5:33 PM EST up reply actions

So am I correct in interpreting that as Ben actually gets more guaranteed money in the long run?

by jedmiller71 on Feb 23, 2012 5:49 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

Correct

More money guaranteed, but the total value of his contract has not changed.

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by barnerburner on Feb 23, 2012 5:51 PM EST up reply actions

So why isn’t every player on the team begging for this type of restructure?

by jedmiller71 on Feb 23, 2012 5:54 PM EST via mobile up reply actions

That's what I was asking yesterday!

Who WOULDN’T want to do this? We keep trying to make them out to be heroes, but this really is kind of the same thing as when planes oversell flights, and offer a ticket on the next flight, plus a free ticket on another flight, if they wait four hours to fly.

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by Neal Coolong on Feb 23, 2012 6:04 PM EST up reply actions

It is a great deal that players would be foolish to turn down

But the team isn’t offering this kind of deal to every player – they want players with multiple years left on their deals to spread out the cap hit of the signing bonus.

As soon as that money is renegotiated into a signing bonus, the team needs to pay it to him immediately (at least that’s my understanding). That means the team needs to make sure they have the actual cash on hand to satisfy each of these restructures. It’s a lot of money getting paid out in a very short period of time and if they don’t have a slush fund that can handle it, then they need to make sure they’re not nuking their own organizational cash flow in the near future.

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by barnerburner on Feb 23, 2012 6:05 PM EST up reply actions

Is it Ben is going to get more guaranteed money..

or was he always guaranteed to get it….

by OR69faithfull on Feb 23, 2012 8:25 PM EST up reply actions

2012 salary converted to bonus

Basically, the Steelers guaranteed most of Ben’s 2012 salary, by converting it to signing bonus. Instead of being paid the $11M over the course of the season, he will get the money up front, in one lump sum.

With bonus money, the only thing that is pro-rated, is the accounting of the money, not the pay out.

by Greig Clawson on Feb 23, 2012 9:55 PM EST up reply actions

It was more a thought

Won could pretty much guarentee he is playing thru his contract… Only QB comes to mind in the last 40 yrs I can recall is Joe Theisman…. QB is a fairly low risk career ending injury risk… Seem’s the restructure is all +

per Neals comment… there are some positions where these restructures are higher risk, whether it be injury or performance..

by OR69faithfull on Feb 23, 2012 10:57 PM EST up reply actions

Guaranteeing a players salary

is only a concern, if there is a strong chance that the player will be cut during training camp. Once a player makes the final roster, the team is on the hook for his salary for that year, even if the team releases him during the course of the season. If they cut him during the season, any money that is charged towards future years, would come due this season. The long term cost to the team doesn’t really change, as a result of restructuring contracts.

by Greig Clawson on Feb 23, 2012 11:44 PM EST up reply actions

after reading thru

the parameters of some of the long term implications of these recent contract restructures at
www.askthecommish.com/salarycap/faq.asp seems were walking on thin ice not to box ourselves in fiscally in the near future… aslo seems after reading thru all the details, its even more unlikely some of our veterans will be offered a restructure…those $$$ pushed forward would near cripple out options and flexibility next yr and yr after… at the very least, youd be playing russian roulette hoping for increases in cap to offest liabilities…
Seems to spell the end to Hines, Smith, Farrior, Foote ?, Hampton, Kemo, Essex(resign), Moore (resign), Starks (pup resign) I just dont see how back loading any $$$ for these players is money or talent wise

by OR69faithfull on Feb 24, 2012 5:11 AM EST up reply actions

THIS, this is what I've been so worried about...

…thanks OR69 for the link, and I agree with you 100%. Even if the salary cap goes up the projected amount, the Steelers are adding layers of money from older players which will count against those future cap amounts, regardless of what we need to pay for future stars, rookies, etc.

It is indeed “thin ice”.

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Feb 24, 2012 7:48 AM EST up reply actions

Seems there committed to this for a few years to come...

…so the Steelers will like keep going down this road: sign Wallace then restructure that contract a year later.

Heyward, Ziggy, Brown, Sanders etc…
Essentially, they’ll likely keep doing so until they feel that they are not a SB contender, at which point they’ll bite the bullet, and have a couple of crappy years until the salaries get under control and they’re back in a nice salary cap situation.

I am happy with how it all seems to be working out (in the short-term), but I do get the sense that down the road they’ll be backed into a corner, where the older, injury-prone, less-productive vets cannot be released because their salaries are all guaranteed anyway. And that’s the point where we can’t re-sign important Steelers reaching UFA status, because the cap won’t allow it and the flexibility to be creative will be used up.

by lomerlaw on Feb 24, 2012 10:28 AM EST up reply actions

EXACTLY...

…thanks for expressing it better than I have.

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Feb 24, 2012 12:06 PM EST up reply actions

2 years in the wilderness?

If the Steelers spend two years in the wilderness after this window closes then they will be able to get a shot at decent QB (maybe a franchise guy) and restock the shelves in preparation for the next run. Until then lets enjoy what we have.

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by Cold_Old_Steelers_Fan on Feb 24, 2012 3:52 PM EST up reply actions

"If the Steelers spend two years in the wilderness after this window closes then they will be able to get a shot at decent QB (maybe a franchise guy)"

That’s the only upside to the darkness on the horizon. 2003 sucked ass but it was worth it.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

Franco Harris:
"If I had to choose today between the moral integrity and character of Joe Paterno and the politicians and commentators criticizing him, I would pick Joe Paterno, hands down, no contest every time."

by showtime on Feb 25, 2012 1:32 PM EST up reply actions

"It’s a lot of money getting paid out in a very short period of time and if they don’t have a slush fund that can handle it, then they need to make sure they’re not nuking their own organizational cash flow in the near future."

Great observation. It’s my understanding that one of the benefits of the new ownership group for the Steelers is that they have more cash. When the team was laying out their strategy for this period they most likely knew they’d need lots of cash for these types of transactions.

I do have to wonder if they’ll be in salary cap jail in later years if the wrong people get injured the wrong way. I also see how the Colts and pats have been set up lately and how the huge cap hits from the veteran franchise QBs is weakening the rest of the squad. I assume Ben’s cap hits will get bigger every year from here on out. But I would imagine that the Steelers’ management team has a plan for that as well.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

Franco Harris:
"If I had to choose today between the moral integrity and character of Joe Paterno and the politicians and commentators criticizing him, I would pick Joe Paterno, hands down, no contest every time."

by showtime on Feb 23, 2012 9:02 PM EST up reply actions

2014 TV contracts!

The salary cap is determined, based on a percentage of NFL revenues. Those revenues will take a big jump, once the new TV contracts kick in, which will provide a big lift to the salary cap.

The Steelers just need to make it through these next two seasons, and then they will have plenty of breathing room.

by Greig Clawson on Feb 23, 2012 10:01 PM EST up reply actions

Players' agents must be salivating...

…at the prospect of having prime players who become UFA’s the same time the new TV contracts kick in!

by lomerlaw on Feb 24, 2012 10:30 AM EST up reply actions

Definitely more cheese for the rats to gnaw on.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

Franco Harris:
"If I had to choose today between the moral integrity and character of Joe Paterno and the politicians and commentators criticizing him, I would pick Joe Paterno, hands down, no contest every time."

by showtime on Feb 25, 2012 1:26 PM EST up reply actions

First vote for BTSC for best Pittsburgh Sports Blog (find link on main page)...

…have you voted?

…The Steelers don’t do this re-structure voluntarily, for while it lowers this year’s cap number, it simply shifts the balance, on a pro-rated basis, to the out years; I bet when the dust settles, we’re going to see some serious multi-year cap issues unless the cap rises to the levels its been projected to; even then, all this pro-rated money is going to limit what the Steelers can do for future “big star” contracts…

…and now, for hopefully the LAST time…

…and Roger Goodell is Such an Ass.

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Feb 23, 2012 8:56 PM EST up reply actions

wining now

As we move all the money to end of players contracts we are going to feel the pain in a couple of years. Hopefully we can get a 7th and mabey an 8th before we have a collection of expensive, but old players.

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by CheekyMonkey on Feb 24, 2012 8:35 AM EST up reply actions

Should be around $3 million over right now

However cutting Kemoeatu after June 1st saves 3.58 Million or before may 1st saves 2.4 million. Cutting Larry Foote saves $3million, Johnathan Scott 2.2 milion, Smith retiring est $2.2 million and $1.35 million if cutting Shuisham after June first. Should be enough to sign draft picks and Wallace to first round tender while working out a better deal that is more back loaded.

Huge fan of the Steelers. (that includes "Steelers West")
"If I could start my life over again, I would be a professional football player and you better damn well believe a Pittsburgh Steeler!"- Jack Lambert

by Steel34D on Feb 23, 2012 5:38 PM EST reply actions

Steelers need to be under the cap by March 13

by Greig Clawson on Feb 23, 2012 5:41 PM EST up reply actions

The top 51 contracts need to be under the cap by March 13.

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by Neal Coolong on Feb 23, 2012 6:04 PM EST up reply actions

We keep Kemo on the roster until June 2nd so we save more money when he's cut

Cut Scott, Foote, and Allen in the next few days, while letting Aaron Smith retire. Bring back Foote for the veteran minimum and sign a free agent OL to be a backup. I would also suggest cutting Ward and bringing him back at a minimum as well to save a little more.

This should give us enough room to sign all of the draft picks we keep, as well as bring back a guy like Willie Gay if we should need him again.

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Miami Hurricanes fan - nuff said.
Georgetown Hoyas fan - nuff said.
Cleveland Cavaliers fan - um yeah, about that...

by StoneColdSteel on Feb 23, 2012 7:06 PM EST up reply actions

I dont understand

I dont understand why the Steelers save more money by holding on to kemo until june 2nd. Could you please enlighten me. Thank you go Steelers

keiselsbeard

by rainman d on Feb 24, 2012 7:57 AM EST up reply actions

If they cut someone before June 1, the cap hit goes on the current year. In this case, If Kemoeatu is cut tomorrow, 100 percent of the remaining portion of his signing bonus over the entire contract hits the 2012 cap. If he’s cut after June 1, the 2012 cap is hit for the bonus owed in 2012, but what’s left all goes on the 2013 cap (referred to as “dead money”).

It all depends on how much he’s owed and when.

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by Neal Coolong on Feb 24, 2012 9:19 AM EST up reply actions

great information

I learned something new today!

As long as I don’t have to see him on the field next year, I’m fine with whenever they cut that guy.

by lkwdsteel on Feb 24, 2012 11:27 AM EST up reply actions

thank you

Now I get it.

keiselsbeard

by rainman d on Feb 24, 2012 12:53 PM EST up reply actions

Math was never my strong suit

but I shouldn’t be as confused as I am. Brian McIntyre reported that the Steelers had saved over 18 million in cap space before the restructures for Willie and Ben which saved an additional 11+ million.
Let me get my calculator…..
Yep, thats 29 to 30 million dollars.
If we were beleived to be only 20-25 million over the cap when the off season began, we should now be 5-10 million under already.
What am I missing?

by Kansas Steel on Feb 23, 2012 5:43 PM EST reply actions

that was my question as well. it looks like to me that we have saves 25 to 30 million so far

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by seton hall and steelers on Feb 23, 2012 5:53 PM EST up reply actions

Well, I don’t think the 2012 cap number has been officially announced yet. I’m pretty sure we’ve just been working off of educated estimates – which are probably pretty accurate depending on the source – but estimates nonetheless.

Work still needs to be done if they’re intent on franchising Wallace, and all of the other RFA tenders still need to be issued as well. Those all need to be on the books by the same date that we need to be compliant with the cap, because free agency begins on the same day (if I’m not mistaken).

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by barnerburner on Feb 23, 2012 5:55 PM EST up reply actions

Cap projections are ranging from $120 to $125 million. These are all just estimates.

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by Neal Coolong on Feb 23, 2012 6:05 PM EST up reply actions

I find it odd

that the salary cap is not set yet, when the deadline is so close

but you are correct, the estimates are in the 122 million range from what i’m reading

by jharmon64 on Feb 23, 2012 7:13 PM EST up reply actions

We were $11 million as of Monday (according to ESPN)

Willies restructuring on Tuesday saved 2.85 and Ben’s 8 million
That is $10.85 million so they should be pretty damn close to even. However they need room to sign their RFA and draft picks. Estimate about $5 million for the draft picks.

Huge fan of the Steelers. (that includes "Steelers West")
"If I could start my life over again, I would be a professional football player and you better damn well believe a Pittsburgh Steeler!"- Jack Lambert

by Steel34D on Feb 23, 2012 7:19 PM EST up reply actions

According to another Steelers blog that appears to do a pretty good job with staying on top of this, the Steelers rule of 51 number right now is at about $127MM

by worldtrip on Feb 23, 2012 8:22 PM EST reply actions

First vote for BTSC for best Pittsburgh Sports Blog (find link on main page)...

…have you voted; only 11 minutes to go…

…Neal, you are about to be promoted from

lowly internet hacks

to an “Elite Eight” internet hack; you should be so proud…

…and hopefully the last time I have to post…

…and Roger Goodell is Such an Ass.

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Feb 23, 2012 8:53 PM EST reply actions

I voted just in time...looked like BTSC moves on?

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by VA6BurghFan on Feb 23, 2012 9:43 PM EST reply actions

933-560!!!!!

(doing the movin’ on dance)

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by Neal Coolong on Feb 23, 2012 9:51 PM EST up reply actions

BRING ON THE PONIES!!!!

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by Neal Coolong on Feb 23, 2012 9:51 PM EST up reply actions

sweet! this is an exceptional blog neal...really enjoy it

"We're in hell right now gentlemen...believe me...and we can stay here and get the (s) kicked out of us or we can fight our way back...into the light, we can climb out of hell, one inch at a time." - Al Pacino, Any Given Sunday

by VA6BurghFan on Feb 23, 2012 10:12 PM EST up reply actions

Wow, btsc advances, and so did my lowly volleyball team tonight. We generally suck (my volleyball team, not btsc), so maybe this is a good night to play some kind of number, or whatever people do.

by Anthony Defeo on Feb 23, 2012 10:40 PM EST reply actions

Do you guys have a good team name?

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by barnerburner on Feb 23, 2012 11:41 PM EST up reply actions

The talk around town is that some team with a lot of money to play with is going to put the screws to the Steelers by making Wallace an offer he couldn't refuse.

Even if that happens, and Wallace gets like $10 million a year, that’s a lot of money to pay a wide receiver. If a team is willing to do that, I couldn’t blame the Steelers for walking away, and I certainly wouldn’t blame Wallace for accepting it.

by Anthony Defeo on Feb 23, 2012 10:47 PM EST reply actions

i think they are also saying

this might be a game. force us to apply the tag to keep him and mess up the rest of our cap planning…who knows.

"We're in hell right now gentlemen...believe me...and we can stay here and get the (s) kicked out of us or we can fight our way back...into the light, we can climb out of hell, one inch at a time." - Al Pacino, Any Given Sunday

by VA6BurghFan on Feb 23, 2012 11:06 PM EST up reply actions

Yep, I heard that, too. Interesting to see what happens.

by Anthony Defeo on Feb 23, 2012 11:19 PM EST up reply actions

If Colbert & Company stick to their Steeler roots...

…they won’t blink in this type of game; blinking meaning panic and franchise tag Wallace. We just can’t do it, not with the cap issues this year, and the next few years.

We weren’t afraid to let Faneca go, or others who commanded higher value than we felt they were worth. In this case, even if you could make the case that Wallace is worth the $9 million or so a franchise tag would cost, the Steelers can’t afford that.

United we Stand, melded like Steel
To Roger Goodell, We'll never Yield.

by PaVaSteeler on Feb 24, 2012 7:51 AM EST up reply actions

tag & sign

applying the Franchise Tag doesn’t prevent the Steelers from agreeing to a long-term contract with Wallace to avoid the 1-year salary at $9.5MM …. it just means that another team can’t sign him to a competing offer sheet AND the ~$9.5MM is guaranteed if Steelers and Wallace don’t agree on longer-term deal..

It’s going to cost them $9MM per year to keep him regardless of how it gets done … Santonio signed for $50MM/5 years last year. Best case in terms of min $$ per year IMO would be $35MM/4 years

by Watty4ever on Feb 24, 2012 6:14 PM EST up reply actions

Hate all this restructuring......

Just adds to our probelms in future years. It has to be done, for sure, but to get doing it eventually will catch up with you. Keep in mind restructuring contracts is taking money due to a player now, and spreading it out over future years, eventually the money will be due.

Next year both Antonio Brown and Sanders reaching their RFA….. More restructuring, I guess if we sign Wallace we can ask him to redo his contract next February and just keep adding to the problems.

by imike29 on Feb 24, 2012 8:14 AM EST reply actions

but the world is ending this coming december

so we’ve got that going for us – LOL

by lkwdsteel on Feb 24, 2012 11:29 AM EST up reply actions

The world's not ending

The Mayans will just be flipping their calenders.

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by Cold_Old_Steelers_Fan on Feb 24, 2012 3:53 PM EST up reply actions

that whole thing cracks me up

if the Mayans were so great at seeing the future, I wonder why they didn’t avoid their own demise?

by lkwdsteel on Feb 27, 2012 11:22 AM EST up reply actions

Instead of signing Wallace

I’d rather they take Ben’s $8M and the extra pick and strengthen the O-line. Keep Ben upright and get another WR later in the draft since this is a deep one. Heck they could even take a flyer on someone like Elvis Akpla from the FCS who runs in the 4.3 to 4.4 range and has decent (6’1") size as a late round or undrafted free agent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox-Xh8hHCW0

Signing Wallace would keep the status quo on an offense that struggled in the redzone. Beefing up the O-line would help the run game, the pass game, and the defense who could spend more quality time on the sidelines.

by lkwdsteel on Feb 24, 2012 11:50 AM EST reply actions

Well it’s beginning to look like this years team will look like last years team. Hampton and Fattior are 2 down players. Smith is a 0 down player. I don’t get it. Why do defensive players get what they woant and offensive players are plugged in all the time? Eventualy that has to come back and bite them.

by y4Adollar on Feb 24, 2012 12:34 PM EST reply actions