Steelers Restructure Alex Highsmith’s Contract, Adding Significant Cap Space
The Pittsburgh Steelers have restructured the contract of outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, saving the team over $7 million in 2024 salary cap space, according to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The Steelers will save $7.206 million against their 2024 salary cap obligations with a full restructure of Highsmith’s contract. The savings will be spread out over the remaining three years of his deal.
Highsmith had been set to count for $13.9 million against the Steelers’ cap this season, $16.2 in 2025, $17.7 in 2026 and $18.7 in 2027. Now, he will count for $6.7 million this season, $18.6 million in 2025, $20.1 million in 2026 and $21.1 million in 2027.
The restructure will not change the total amount of the contract, but will fully guarantee his $10.7 million salary that was not guaranteed for this season. It may also move up the payment of that money to this offseason.
The Steelers don’t have an immediate need for the savings, with the team already having over $12 million in offseason salary cap space, but such a move seemed inevitable at some point this offseason. They could also be gearing up to add someone to the roster with a large 2024 salary cap hit, such as a trade for Brandon Aiyuk or another receiver.
With Highsmith’s restructure, the Steelers have about $19.3 million in 2024 offseason salary cap space, according to Steelers Now‘s estimate. That’s up from $12.1 million in our last estimate.
That total number can still be misleading. Before the start of the 2024 regular season, they will need to pay workout bonuses, sign their rookie class, account for the 52nd and 53rd players on the roster, sign a practice squad, account for players on the injured reserve and leave space for in-season acquisitions. They may also need to make room for a contract extension for tight end Pat Freiermuth.
The Steelers once again will have some work to do to get salary cap compliant before the start of the season after this week’s moves. They are functionally about $7.5 million over their salary cap. The Steelers have several avenues of achieving further savings, as the team can cut, restructure, or extend the contract of several veteran players, including Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and Minkah Fitzpatrick.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2024 SALARY CAP BREAKDOWN
| Functional cap space (est.) | -$239,692 | T.J. Watt | $30,418,694 |
| Cam Heyward | $22,406,250 | ||
| Estimated 2024 NFL salary cap | $255,400,000 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | $21,355,000 |
| Steelers 2023 cap rollover | $2,340,192 | Larry Ogunjobi | $13,283,333 |
| Steelers 2024 salary cap (est.) | $257,740,192 | James Daniels | $11,166,668 |
| Isaac Seumalo | $10,191,666 | ||
| Top 51 salaries | $214,036,570 | Cole Holcomb | $7,640,000 |
| Dead cap hits | $24,402,178* | Alex Highsmith | $6,727,000 |
| Patrick Queen | $6,113,333 | ||
| Offseason cap space (est.) | $19,301,444 | Donte Jackson | $6,000,000 |
| Nate Herbig | $5,460,000 | ||
| Draft pool | $2,663,936 | Chris Boswell | $4,720,000 |
| End of rule of 51 | $1,970,000 | Elandon Roberts | $4,667,500 |
| Practice squad (est.) | $4,000,000 | Najee Harris | $4,151,460 |
| In-season buffer/IR (est.) | $10,000,00 | Damontae Kazee | $3,875,000 |
| Workout bonuses (placeholder) | $907,200 | Broderick Jones | $3,778,719 |
| Dan Moore Jr. | $3,540,475 | ||
| Potential future savings | Justin Fields | $3,233,448 | |
| Heyward extension | $9,860,000 | Miles Killebrew | $2,255,000 |
| Fitzpatrick restructure | $8,860,000 | DeShon Elliott | $2,250,000 |
| Watt restructure | $9,965,000 | Cordarelle Patterson | $2,250,000 |
| Joey Porter Jr. | $2,185,988 | ||
| Montravius Adams | $2,125,000 | ||
| Cameron Johnston | $2,083,333 | ||
| Pat Freiermuth | $1,918,057 | ||
| Dean Lowry | $1,875,000 | ||
| George Pickens | $1,841,506 | ||
| Keeanu Benton | $1,666,619 | ||
| DeMarvin Leal | $1,414,608 | ||
| Darnell Washington | $1,216,798 | ||
| Russell Wilson | $1,210,000 | ||
| Christian Kuntz | $1,163,333 | ||
| Van Jefferson | $1,152,500 | ||
| Kyle Allen | $1,152,500 | ||
| Quez Watkins | $1,152,500 | ||
| Isaiahh Loudermilk | $1,135,072 | ||
| Calvin Austin III | $1,111,084 | ||
| Nick Herbig | $1,083,231 | ||
| Breiden Fehoko | $1,055,000 | ||
| Denzel Mims | $1,055,000 | ||
| MyCole Pruitt | $1,035,000 | ||
| Connor Heyward | $1,023,806 | ||
| Mark Robinson | $1,013,089 | ||
| Jaylen Warren | $989,000 | ||
| Luq Barcoo | $985,000 | ||
| Marquez Callaway | $985,000 | ||
| Dez Fitzpatrick | $985,000 | ||
| Thomas Graham Jr. | $985,000 | ||
| Kyron Johnson | $985,000 | ||
| Jonathan Marshall | $985,000 | ||
| Josiah Scott | $985,000 |
*Dead cap hits currently account for the prorated portion of the Cory Trice Jr.’s signing bonus while he is not among the top 51 contracts.
Salary figures from Steelers Now sources, the NFLPA, and OvertheCap.com.
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