George Pickens Gets Raise for On-Field Performance
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens has earned a raise for the 2025 season. Pickens will get a bonus as part of the NFL proven performance escalator program.
Pickens will now earn $3.656 million in 2025. As part of the original rookie contract he signed with the Steelers, he would have only earned $3.406 million, so he earned a raise of $250,ooo
The PPE program is designed to reward players that produce at a high level while still on their rookie contracts. The PPE program has three levels, the highest if a player is selected as a Pro Bowler, the second if they play at least 55% of the team’s offensive or defensive snaps in each of their first three seasons, and thirdly if they play over 35% of the team’s offensive or defensive snaps in two of their first three seasons.
The three levels correspond to three contract amounts. Level one PPE players earn the amount of an right of first refusal tender for a restricted free agent. Level two players earn that plus $250,000. Level three players earn the amount of a second-round RFA tender.
Pickens played at least 68.6% of the Steelers’ offensive snaps in all three season, with the lowest coming this past season and the most coming at 86.7% in 2023. His total snap count average over three seasons stands at 77.1%.
While it has been known that Pickens earned the escalator since the end of the 2024 season, with the RFA tender amounts released by the NFL last week, Pickens’ raise can now be accounted for.
Pickens’ raise was included in our latest salary cap update, which shows the Steelers having $63.69 million in offseason cap space.
Pickens is the fourth Steelers player over the last five years to earn a PPE raise. Left tackle Dan Moore Jr. earned one going into the 2024 season, guard Kevin Dotson did the same going into.2023, before he was traded to the Los Angeles Rams, and right tackle Chuks Okorafor got a bump in pay for the 2021 season.