The Steelers have restructured Pat Freiermuth's contract, converting some of his 2026 salary into signing bonus money, which is prorated over the remaining years of his current deal.
With the restructure, the Steelers freed up $4.25 million in 2026 cap space, according to Spotrac, lowering Freiermuth's cap hit to $6.9 million. Freiermuth now has a $14.2 million cap hit in 2027 and $12.6 million cap hit in 2028. At the same time, after the 2026 season concludes, there will be only $8.46 million in guaranteed money left on Freiermuth's contract. Theoretically, if the Steelers wanted to move on from Freiermuth after the 2026 season, they would save $5.77 million in 2027 cap space while taking on that $8.46 million in dead cap.
After this restructure, the Steelers now have $7.19 million in cap space. Typically, that's about how much the team operates within during the season since every dollar is accounted for once 53-man rosters are set.
Should the Steelers want to create more cap space, they can restructure other contracts or lower 2026 cap hit through contract extensions. For example, Patrick Queen is heading into the final year of the contract and carries a $17.2 million cap hit, the sixth-highest on the team. If the Steelers were to extend him, they could take some of that money and apply to to future years of the new contract. Omar Khan did this with both DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. when the Steelers acquired both players and signed them to extensions.
THE ASYLUM
Salary cap after Freiermuth restructure
The Steelers have restructured Pat Freiermuth's contract, converting some of his 2026 salary into signing bonus money, which is prorated over the remaining years of his current deal.
With the restructure, the Steelers freed up $4.25 million in 2026 cap space, according to Spotrac, lowering Freiermuth's cap hit to $6.9 million. Freiermuth now has a $14.2 million cap hit in 2027 and $12.6 million cap hit in 2028. At the same time, after the 2026 season concludes, there will be only $8.46 million in guaranteed money left on Freiermuth's contract. Theoretically, if the Steelers wanted to move on from Freiermuth after the 2026 season, they would save $5.77 million in 2027 cap space while taking on that $8.46 million in dead cap.
After this restructure, the Steelers now have $7.19 million in cap space. Typically, that's about how much the team operates within during the season since every dollar is accounted for once 53-man rosters are set.
Should the Steelers want to create more cap space, they can restructure other contracts or lower 2026 cap hit through contract extensions. For example, Patrick Queen is heading into the final year of the contract and carries a $17.2 million cap hit, the sixth-highest on the team. If the Steelers were to extend him, they could take some of that money and apply to to future years of the new contract. Omar Khan did this with both DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. when the Steelers acquired both players and signed them to extensions.
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