The contract details have emerged for the Pittsburgh Steelers new deal with safety Damontae Kazee.
According to a report by Aaron Wilson of KPRC Houston, Kazee will make $6 million on the two-year contact. He has a $1.75 million signing bonus, and salaries of $1.25 million in 2023 and $3 million in 2024. Only the signing bonus is guaranteed.
That means that Kazee will count only $2.125 million toward the Steelers’ 2023 salary cap. If the team retains him for 2024, he will count for $4.875 that season. If they decide to release him, they will incur only an $875,000 dead cap hit.
What does that mean for the Steelers’ overall salary cap situation? It’s hard to say right now. Of the team’s flurry of moves this week the details for the new contracts of Larry Ogunjobi, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Robert have not yet been released.
So the total picture remains murky, but the Steelers got Kazee at only a modest raise from his previous deal. He made $1.1875 million on a one-year contract with the team in 2022.
Of the 10 free agent safeties whose contract details have been released so far this offseason, his deal came in at by far the least expensive.
It’s not clear if Kazee will be expected to start with the Steelers in 2023, or if the team will consider bringing back Terrell Edmunds or another free agent to play along with Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Kazee played in nine games and made four starts with the Steelers after missing time early in the season with a broken arm. He finished with 20 tackles, two passes defended and two interceptions.
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