The Pittsburgh Steelers have been handing out contract extensions left and right this offseason, with general manager Omar Khan already handing out new deals to Cam Heyward , Chris Boswell , Nick Herbig and Darnell Washington , with Keeanu Benton the latest to cash in near the end of training camp.
How has Khan's spending spree impacted the team's salary cap situation, and how much money does he have left to work with, as remaining extension candidates like Joey Porter Jr. and Spencer Anderson await.
So where do the Steelers stand with regards to the salary cap after Khan's early activity?
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan during a press conference on April 27, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
In terms of 2026 salary cap hits, Rodgers checked in at $22.25 million Freiermuth's dropped after his restructure to $6.94 million. Heyward's number dropped slightly to $13.67 million. Boswell now counts for $4.9 million against the 2026 cap. Herbig's cap hit increased to $5.43 million, while Washington's was reduced to $3.47 million. Benton's hit increased to $4.3 million with his new deal.
With those changes, and the signing of all of the team's 2026 NFL Draft class, we can take an adjusted look at the team's salary cap situation.
| Salary Cap |
$301,200,000 |
| 2025 Rollover |
$16,907,294 |
|---|---|
| NFL Adjustment |
$3,652,778 |
| Team Cap |
$321,760,072 |
| Top 51 Salaries |
$305,255,147 |
| Dead Money |
$12,435,447 |
| Sub-51 Contract Bonuses |
$514,472 |
| Current 2026 Salary Cap Space |
$2,886,493 |
The Steelers rolled over a whopping $16.9 million in salary cap space from 2025, which is the most I can ever recall them rolling over. Usually, they don't even enter the season with even $10 million in buffer. So the Steelers will have more cap space to spend than most teams, with a $321.7 million team cap compared to the $301.2 million base amount.
The Steelers also don't have very much dead money, with $6.9 million from the trade of Minkah Fitzpatrick last year and $3.9 million from the release of Jonnu Smith accounting for the vast majority of their $12.435 million in dead cap charges.
That leaves the Steelers with what looks like a decent amount of salary cap space remaining, with a current cap space of $2.89 million.
| Workout Bonuses (est.) |
$668,513 |
| 52nd & 53rd Players (est.) |
$2,150,000 |
|---|---|
| Practice Squad (est.) |
$4,000,000 |
| In-season Buffer (est.) |
$5,000,000 |
| Injured Reserve |
$1,030,000 |
| Functional 2026 Salary Cap Space (est.) |
-$5,662,020 |
Offseason salary cap space can be deceiving. Khan can't spend all the money in the Steelers' coffers. The Steelers will have several expenses between now and the start of the season that while known, are not yet on the books.
Those include offseason workout bonuses, the final two players on the 53-man roster (only 51 count in the offseason), a practice squad, players on the injured reserve, players who receive injury settlements, and a buffer for in-season moves.
Those items will functionally reduce the team's ability to spend, leaving Khan $5.67 million in the red when it comes to current functional salary cap space.
Because those items won't hit the ledger until the season starts or after, the Steelers are fine to over-spend now and figure out how to get back under the cap later. They have to be cap compliant on cut-down day, Aug. 30.
| T.J. Watt Restructure |
$20,466,667 |
| DK Metcalf Restructure |
$17,775,000 |
|---|---|
| Jalen Ramsey Restructure |
$6,960,000 |
| Alex Highsmith Restructure |
$6,642,500 |
| Malik Harrison Trade/Release |
$4,750,000 |
| Mason Rudolph Trade/Release |
$3,000,000 |
| Jayen Warren Restructure |
$1,917,500 |
| DeShon Elliott Restructure |
$1,390,000 |
| Potential Steelers Salary Cap Savings |
$62,901,667 |
That being said, Steelers can even make a whole lot more cap space if they want to. The Steelers have already cleared some space with the restructure to Freiermuth's deal and the release of tackle Calvin Anderson and tight end Jonnu Smith . Linebacker Malik Harrison also appears to be likely to released.
The Steelers could also restructure the contract of players like T.J. Watt , DK Metcalf , Jalen Ramsey and Alex Highsmith to make more salary cap space. The Steelers have the ability to make almost as much cap space as they want this offseason with several available restructures, though with the team in rebuild posture, they likely won't pick this offseason to mortgage the future for the present.
So is Khan done making big-money moves? Not necessarily. The team can certainly still make the space needed to extend the contracts of Anderson and Porter, and could probably even do more business beyond those two deals. But going forward, all additions to the roster will likely have to come with more restructures to make room.
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt during a game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 15, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
| T.J. Watt |
$42,000,000 |
| DK Metcalf |
$31,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Aaron Rodgers |
$22,500,000 |
| Alex Highsmith |
$20,102,000 |
| Jalen Ramsey |
$17,229,000 |
| Patrick Queen |
$17,193,334 |
| Cam Heyward |
$13,675,000 |
| Michael Pittman Jr. |
$8,866,666 |
| Jaylen Warren |
$7,033,333 |
| Pat Freiermuth |
$6,943,333 |
| Malik Harrison |
$6,790,000 |
| DeShon Elliott |
$6,080,000 |
| Jamel Dean |
$5,500,000 |
| Jaquan Brisker |
$5,500,000 |
| Nick Herbig |
$5,427,431 |
| Broderick Jones |
$5,290,207 |
| Joey Porter Jr. |
$4,922,790 |
| Chris Boswell |
$4,900,000 |
| Mason Rudolph |
$4,622,500 |
| Keeanu Benton |
$4,299,295 |
| Troy Fautanu |
$4,105,990 |
| Derrick Harmon |
$4,084,910 |
| Asante Samuel Jr. |
$4,000,000 |
| Brandin Echols |
$3,915,000 |
| Max Iheanachor |
$3,762,252 |
| Rico Dowdle |
$3,750,000 |
| Sebastian Joseph-Day |
$3,650,000 |
| Darnell Washington |
$3,473,438 |
| Ben Skowronek |
$2,790,000 |
| Brock Hoffman |
$2,500,000 |
| Zach Frazier |
$2,057,513 |
| Cole Holcomb |
$1,987,500 |
| Germie Bernard |
$1,917,250 |
| Esezi Otomewo |
$1,750,000 |
| Roman Wilson |
$1,566,864 |
| Payton Wilson |
$1,526,267 |
| Kaleb Johnson |
$1,448,196 |
| Ryan McCollum |
$1,332,500 |
| Christian Kuntz |
$1,323,334 |
| Drew Allar |
$1,291,529 |
| Mason McCormick |
$1,266,224 |
| Darnell Savage |
$1,262,500 |
| Jack Driscoll |
$1,262,500 |
| Daylen Everette |
$1,254,635 |
| Jack Sawyer |
$1,242,733 |
| Gennings Dunker |
$1,222,971 |
| Kaden Wetjen |
$1,166,729 |
| Spencer Anderson |
$1,164,446 |
| Logan Lee |
$1,130,018 |
| Yahya Black |
$1,099,959 |
| Dylan Cook |
$1,075,000 |
| Jamin Davis |
$1,075,000 |
| Travis Homer |
$1,075,000 |
| D'Shawn Jamison |
$1,075,000 |
| Rayshawn Jenkins |
$1,075,000 |
| Cameron Johnston |
$1,075,000 |
| Dean Lowry |
$1,075,000 |
| Issrael Mukuamu |
$1,075,000 |
| Robert Tonyan |
$1,075,000 |
| Will Howard |
$1,067,025 |
| Carson Bruener |
$1,039,235 |
| Jaheim Bell |
$1,005,000 |
| Sebastian Castro |
$1,005,000 |
| Anthony Goodlow |
$1,005,000 |
| Cornell Powell |
$1,005,000 |
| Jacoby Windmon |
$1,005,000 |
| Riley Nowakowski |
$995,814 |
| Gabriel Rubio |
$946,725 |
| Robert Spears-Jennings |
$925,982 |
| Eli Heidenreich |
$923,996 |
| Donte Kent |
$918,364 |
| Kevin Jobity Jr. |
$895,000 |
| Devan Boykin |
$893,333 |
| Lake McRee |
$893,333 |
| Laith Marjan |
$890,000 |
| Greg Crippen |
$885,666 |
| Kyler Baugh |
$885,000 |
| Joaquin Davis |
$885,000 |
| Jack Henderson |
$885,000 |
| Max Hurleman |
$885,000 |
| Steven Jones |
$885,000 |
| J. Keeney-James |
$885,000 |
| Tamon Lynum |
$885,000 |
| Lance Mason |
$885,000 |
| Doug Nester |
$885,000 |
| Lew Nichols III |
$885,000 |
| Daryl Porter Jr. |
$885,000 |
| Doneiko Slaughter |
$885,000 |
| Brandon Smith |
$885,000 |
| Julius Welschof |
$885,000 |
| Levi Wentz |
$885,000 |
| Isaiah Winstead |
$885,000 |
| Daequan Hardy |
$515,000 |
| Cole Burgess |
$515,000 |
Editor's note: You may see slightly different numbers here from other sources. I already corrected some errors from my first few runs through, and there certainly could be more. There are also some minor discrepancies about the contract amounts for a few Steelers players, a dollar here and there, and a big one when it comes to Jalen Ramsey, who we are counting for $17.2 million against the cap this season. It could end up being more if the Steelers end up choosing not to prorate his option bonus, but they don't need to make that decision until Aug. 31.
Salary figures from Steelers Now sources, the NFLPA , and Over The Cap .
Updated on Aug. 20.
The post Pittsburgh Steelers Salary Cap Update after Keeanu Benton Extension appeared first on Steelers Now .
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