With the Pittsburgh Steelers splashing the cash on Tuesday to sign cornerback Steven Nelson and retain linebacker Anthony Chickillo, it is probably reassuring to hear that the extension given to Ramon Foster appears to be a relatively team-friendly deal.
Once again, Steelers salary cap expert Ian Whetstone was the first with the figures, revealing a contract worth $8.25 million that included a signing bonus worth $3.15 million.
Foster gets most of his money this year in a $3.15 million signing bonus. The rest comes from a $1.1 million base salary this year, to go with $4 million next year. I thought he might get a little but more of the $8.25 million this year, but it's a pretty even split.
— Ian Whetstone (@IanWhetstone) March 12, 2019
The $4.25 million that Ramon Foster will make this year on his new contract matches the highest one-year earnings of his career, back in 2016.
— Ian Whetstone (@IanWhetstone) March 12, 2019
The open market isn't overly kind to 33-year-olds, but I do think he left a little money on the table to return to Pittsburgh.
With a base salary of just $1.1 million in 2019, Foster will only cost $2.675 million against the cap this season with a prorated signing bonus of $1.575 million, and will cost $5.575 million against the cap in 2020 thanks to a base salary of $4 million.
Despite his age, it is hard to believe that Foster could not have found a team willing to pay him at least a little bit more than the Steelers offered on the open market, but it would appear that Foster’s desire to remain in Pittsburgh trumped his desire to test free agency for the first time in his career.
Given the terms of his contract, it is not out of the question that Foster could be faced with his release next year if the Steelers opt to go with B.J. Finney as the starter. With Finney an unrestricted free agent in 2020, the $4 million in salary cap savings that cutting Foster would provide might be too tempting to pass up if they need to find funds to re-sign the younger option.