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Steelers Salary Cap Update after DK Metcalf Extension
The contract details have finally been revealed for the Pittsburgh Steelers big contract extension with DK Metcalf, and we can finally begin to update the team’s salary cap situation after the first week of free agency.
The Steelers cap hits for Metcalf, as well as cornerback Brandin Echols, linebacker Malik Harrison, center Ryan McCollum and cornerback Darius Slay can now all be calculated, which gives us a look at where the Steelers stand with regards to the salary cap at the end of the second week of free agency.
We still don’t have the full picture, as the contract details of eight players have yet to be revealed: quarterback Mason Rudolph, wide receivers Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek, defensive linemen Daniel Ekuale, Isaiahh Loudermilk and Osezi Otomewo, cornerback James Pierre and safety Juan Thornhill.
But none of those players are expected to be big-money contracts, so we should have a pretty good idea of what Omar Khan has left to work with.
With the reported contracts on the rolls, the Steelers have over $41 million in current, offseason salary cap space to work with.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2025 SALARY CAP SNAPSHOT
| Salary Cap | $279,200,000 |
| 2024 Rollover | $6,831,465 |
| Team Cap | $286,031,465 |
| Top 51 Salaries | $240,720,812 |
| Dead Money | $3,578.669 |
| Current Salary Cap Space | $41,732,455 |
Offseason salary cap space can be deceiving. Khan can’t spend all the money in the Steelers’ coffers. 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 the players in the 2025 NFL Draft class, 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 $16 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. Functionally, they can spend over $25 million right now, without having to do any further future salary cap work.
KNOWN STEELERS 2025 FUTURE EXPENSES
| Workout Bonuses (est.) | $907,671 |
| 52nd & 53rd Players | $1,920,000 |
| 2025 NFL Draft Rookie Pool | $2,906,229 |
| Practice Squad (est.) | $4,000,000 |
| In-season Buffer (est.) | $5,000,000 |
| Functional 2025 Salary Cap Space (est.) | $25,712,186 |
That’s where moves like releasing players or signing T.J. Watt to a contract extension could come into play. The Steelers could also restructure the contract of players like Alex Highsmith, Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Pat Freiermuth to make more salary cap space.
POTENTIAL STEELERS 2025 SALARY CAP SAVINGS
| T.J. Watt Extension | $9,000,000 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson Release | $2,800,000 |
| Dean Lowry Release | $2,500,000 |
| Alex Highsmith Restructure | $7,886,667 |
| Pat Freiermuth Restructure | $7,211,250 |
| Minkah Fitzpatrick Restructure | $7,122,500 |
| Cam Heyward Restructure | $6,747,500 |
| Potential Salary Cap Savings | $43,267,917 |
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 |
| DK Metcalf | $11,000,000 |
| Isaac Seumalo | $10,191,668 |
| Darius Slay | $10,000,000 |
| Jaylen Warren* | $5,346,000 |
| Chris Boswell | $4,720,000 |
| Broderick Jones | $4,534,463 |
| Miles Killebrew | $4,245,000 |
| George Pickens | $4,178,670 |
| Cordarelle Patterson | $3,750,000 |
| DeShon Elliott | $3,750,000 |
| Cole Holcomb | $3,640,000 |
| Cameron Johnston | $3,458,333 |
| Troy Fautanu | $3,421,658 |
| Malik Harrison | $3,210,000 |
| Dean Lowry | $3,125,000 |
| Montravius Adams | $3,125,000 |
| Joey Porter Jr. | $2,623,186 |
| Brandin Echols | $2,085,000 |
| Keeanu Benton | $1,999,943 |
| Kenneth Gainwell | $1,790,000 |
| 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 |
| Brandon Johnson | $1,100,000 |
| Skylar Thompson | $1,100,000 |
| Corliss Waitman | $1,100,000 |
| Cory Trice Jr. | $1,051,109 |
| Spencer Anderson | $1,049,446 |
| Devin Harper | $1,030,000 |
| Eku Leota | $1,030,000 |
| Ryan McCollum | $1,030,000 |
| Donald Parham | $1,030,000 |
| Jonathan Ward | $1,030,000 |
| Beanie Bishop | $968,333 |
| Joshuah Bledsoe | $960,000 |
| Dylan Cook | $960,000 |
| Evan Hull | $960,000 |
| D’Shawn Jamison | $960,000 |
| Lance McCutcheon | $960,000 |
| Aaron Shampklin | $960,000 |
| Logan Lee | $895,018 |
| Ryan Watts | $885,671 |
| Domenique Davis | $840,000 |
| Steven Jones | $840,000 |
| Cameron McCutcheon | $840,000 |
| Kyler McMichael | $840,000 |
| Doug Nester | $840,000 |
| Thomas Rush | $840,000 |
| Jacob Slade | $840,000 |
| Julius Welschof | $840,000 |
| Daniel Ekuale | |
| Isaiahh Loudermilk | |
| Scotty Miller | |
| Osezi Otomewo | |
| James Pierre | |
| Mason Rudolph | |
| Ben Skowronek | |
| Juan Thornhill |
Salary figures from Steelers Now sources, the NFLPA, and Over The Cap.