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Steelers have avoided their traditional offseason contract restructurings
Posted by Darin Gantt on May 23, 2016, 6:13 AM EDT
In the past, the Steelers haven’t been afraid to borrow short-term cap savings to keep a competitive roster together.
But this offseason, they’ve held the line on moves they’ve made in previous years, in what could be an attempt to rein in future cap hits.
According to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Steelers haven’t restructured a single contract this offseason, a departure from previous years.
In simple restructurings, teams convert large base salaries into signing bonuses, allowing them to divide the cap hit over the future years of a deal. It’s kick-the-can, pushing the hit down the road for short-term relief.
But it’s also part of Pittsburgh’s standard procedure, having done it seven times last year and 24 times in the last five seasons.
“Sooner or later, you are going to have to pay,” Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert said. “Restructuring has been around for a long time. It’s always a tool that we have, but we also have to use it judiciously.”
If the Steelers extend guard David DeCastro’s contract and perhaps linebacker Lawrence Timmons, they could create some cap space this year. The retirement of tight end Heath Miller helped their cap situation this year.
Colbert said the key is to keep looking three years down the road, and he feels good about where the team in that regard. And while they haven’t traditionally done extensions for players with two years of contract remaining, wide receiver Antonio Brown remains underpaid, though they’re expecting him to show up without issue. Perhaps slight changes to their accounting procedures could signal a softening of other positions as well.
Posted by Darin Gantt on May 23, 2016, 6:13 AM EDT
In the past, the Steelers haven’t been afraid to borrow short-term cap savings to keep a competitive roster together.
But this offseason, they’ve held the line on moves they’ve made in previous years, in what could be an attempt to rein in future cap hits.
According to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Steelers haven’t restructured a single contract this offseason, a departure from previous years.
In simple restructurings, teams convert large base salaries into signing bonuses, allowing them to divide the cap hit over the future years of a deal. It’s kick-the-can, pushing the hit down the road for short-term relief.
But it’s also part of Pittsburgh’s standard procedure, having done it seven times last year and 24 times in the last five seasons.
“Sooner or later, you are going to have to pay,” Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert said. “Restructuring has been around for a long time. It’s always a tool that we have, but we also have to use it judiciously.”
If the Steelers extend guard David DeCastro’s contract and perhaps linebacker Lawrence Timmons, they could create some cap space this year. The retirement of tight end Heath Miller helped their cap situation this year.
Colbert said the key is to keep looking three years down the road, and he feels good about where the team in that regard. And while they haven’t traditionally done extensions for players with two years of contract remaining, wide receiver Antonio Brown remains underpaid, though they’re expecting him to show up without issue. Perhaps slight changes to their accounting procedures could signal a softening of other positions as well.
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