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Steelers Salary Cap Situation after Preston Smith Release
Pittsburgh Steelers Salary Cap Update: The Steelers still have salary cap flexibility entering the 2025 regular season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers had plenty of salary cap space entering the 2025 offseason, but general manager Omar Khan went out and made himself some more on Friday, with the release of veteran outside linebacker Preston Smith.
The release of Smith on Friday saved the team another $13.4 million, before Top 51 displacement. The Steelers rolled over $6.8 million in cap space from the 2024 season, and while there is not yet an official salary cap number for the 2025 season, Over The Cap‘s estimate of $272.5 million would give the Steelers over $53 million in salary cap space as they move forward into the offseason.
Not only that, the Steelers easy ways to make more space, through a contract extension for starter T.J. Watt and/or restructuring some contracts. The Steelers could easily clear more than $60 million in offseason salary cap space if they should choose to.
That’s a good thing, because they’ll need it. The Steelers must sign at least two quarterbacks, will be heavily involved in the wide receiver market, and would probably prefer to address holes at cornerback and running back before the 2025 NFL Draft comes around.
That will be a tall ask for Omar Khan as he works the free agent wire, but one thing is for sure, he has the money to do it.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2025 SALARY CAP SNAPSHOT
| Salary Cap (est.) | $272,500,000 |
| 2024 Rollover | $6,831,465 |
| Team Cap | $279,331,465 |
| Top 51 Salaries | $226,022,364 |
| Dead Money | $45,335 |
| Current Salary Cap Space (est.) | $53,263,766 |
Not all of the money in Khan’s coffers can be spent right now. The Steelers will have some 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, and a buffer for in-season moves. Those items will functionally reduce the team’s ability to spend by about $11.5 million. Because those items won’t hit the ledger until the summer, the Steelers can actually over-spend now and figure out how to get back under the cap later.
KNOWN FUTURE EXPENSES
| Workout Bonuses | $900,000 |
| 52 & 53 | $1,680,000 |
| Practice Squad | $4,000,000 |
| Buffer | $5,000,000 |
| Functional 2025 Salary Cap Space (est.) | $41,683,766 |
That’s where moves like releasing or signing Watt to a contract extension could come into play. The Steelers could also restructure the contract of players like Alex Highsmith and Pat Freiermuth to make more salary cap space.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2025 PLAYER-BY-PLAYER SALARY CAP HITS
| T.J. Watt | $30,418,695 |
| Minkah Fitzpatrick | $22,355,000 |
| Cam Heyward | $19,650,000 |
| Alex Highsmith | $18,602,000 |
| Patrick Queen | $17,693,333 |
| Pat Freiermuth | $12,885,000 |
| Larry Ogunjobi | $10,533,334 |
| Isaac Seumalo | $10,191,668 |
| Cole Holcomb | $7,640,000 |
| Chris Boswell | $4,720,000 |
| Broderick Jones | $4,534,463 |
| Miles Killebrew | $4,245,000 |
| George Pickens | $4,097,670 |
| Cordarelle Patterson | $3,750,000 |
| DeShon Elliott | $3,750,000 |
| Cameron Johnston | $3,458,333 |
| Troy Fautanu | $3,421,658 |
| Dean Lowry | $3,125,000 |
| Montravius Adams | $3,125,000 |
| Joey Porter Jr. | $2,623,186 |
| Keeanu Benton | $1,999,943 |
| Zach Frazier | $1,714,594 |
| DeMarvin Leal | $1,650,376 |
| Darnell Washington | $1,460,158 |
| Roman Wilson | $1,305,720 |
| Christian Kuntz | $1,278,333 |
| Payton Wilson | $1,271,889 |
| Calvin Austin III | $1,226,084 |
| Nick Herbig | $1,198,231 |
| Mason McCormick | $1,151,224 |
| Connor Heyward | $1,138,806 |
| Mark Robinson | $1,128,089 |
| Corliss Waitman | $1,100,000 |
| Brandon Johnson | $1,100,000 |
| Skylar Thompson | $1,100,000 |
| Cory Trice Jr. | $1,051,109 |
| Spencer Anderson | $1,049,446 |
| Eku Leota | $1,030,000 |
| Devin Harper | $1,030,000 |
| Jonathan Ward | $1,030,000 |
| Beanie Bishop | $968,333 |
| Lance McCutcheon | $960,000 |
| Aaron Shampklin | $960,000 |
| Evan Hull | $960,000 |
| Dylan Cook | $960,000 |
| D’Shawn Jamison | $960,000 |
| Joshuah Bledsoe | $960,000 |
| Logan Lee | $895,018 |
| Ryan Watts | $885,671 |
| Domenique Davis | $840,000 |
| Kyler McMichael | $840,000 |
| Doug Nester | $840,000 |
| Julius Welschof | $840,000 |
| Steven Jones | $840,000 |
| Thomas Rush | $840,000 |
| Jacob Slade | $840,000 |
| Cameron McCutcheon | $840,000 |
Salary figures from Steelers Now sources, the NFLPA, and Over The Cap.