After placing the franchise tag on Le'Veon Bell Tuesday, the Steelers began the process of getting under the NFL's salary cap by restructuring the contract of Antonio Brown, trimming some $10 million from the star receiver's 2018 salary by converting it into signing bonus.
The move puts the Steelers in compliance with the salary cap -- as all teams must be by 4 p.m. next Wednesday -- but only barely so. The Steelers are currently just a shade over $1 million under the cap, even counting the $4 million they rolled over from 2017 into 2018.
That means the team will be forced to make additional moves -- such as the expected release of safety Mike Mitchell -- to have enough room to sign their rookie class.
It could also mean the team will be much more intent on signing Bell to a long-term extension that will lower his $14.5-million cap hit for 2018.
Cornerback William Gay also is expected to retire or be released at a savings of $1.75 million, while cornerback Coty Sensabaugh ($1.4 million) also could be released. Safety J.J. Wilcox, who is scheduled to make $3.125 million in 2018, will be asked to take a pay cut or also could be released.
Another move that could be on the horizon is a contract extension for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has two years remaining on his current deal. Roethlisberger is scheduled to count $23.2 million against the team's salary cap in 2018 and has said he would like to play at least three more seasons. That would take him one year past his current deal.
An extension could lower Roethlisberger's salary cap hit in 2018, which also would help the team while assuring that the Steelers' franchise quarterback could finish his career on his terms.
That move might also now be necessary because of Brown's restructure, which converted nearly $10 million of his 2018 salary into signing bonus. While his salary cap hit drops to $7.9 million in 2018, it balloons to $22.17 million in 2019, $18.3 million in 2020 and $19.5 million in 2021, when he will be 33 years old.
The Steelers had previously restructured the contracts of both David DeCastro and Stephon Tuitt to create additional cap space.