Ben Roethlisberger had a $41.25 million salary cap hit for 2021, which was a clear albatross for the team and a number that could never happen. After weeks of debate about what would happen between the two sides they simply agreed on a new deal that saw the Steelers move a bit out of their usual comfort level and Roethlisberger take a $5 million pay cut to reduce his cap number by more than $15 million.
Per multiple reports Roethlisberger agreed to reduce his salary from $19 million to $14 million with all but $1.075 million coming in the form of a signing bonus. In order to reduce the cap charges the Steelers added four voidable contract years which will leave the team with a $10.34 million dead money charge in 2022 if Roethlisberger retires. This is not a typical type of contract for the Steelers at all, but it allows them to save $15.34 million on the cap in 2021 instead of just $5 million.
As for the pay cut it reminds me of the Peyton Manning pay cut in 2015 when the Broncos asked him to slice his pay from $19 million to $15 million. Manning had the ability to earn the salary back in incentives (which he did) and I dont know if that is the same here or not. Pittsburgh is usually anti incentives in contracts as well. I would guess there is a no tag clause if Roethlisberger is to continue playing.
All of the posturing for a $5 million pay cut for a legendary QB in Pittsburgh seems a bit pointless, in my opinion. In the grand scheme of things is $5 million going to be the difference between re-signing Bud Dupree and extending TJ Watt and not being able to do it? The only difference in salary cap savings is $1 million so there is no material difference in the cap situation between a $19 and $14 million salary. I guess every little bit helps.
If Ben completely falls apart physically this year I would expect the team to approach him about reworking his contract for 2022 so they can designate him a post June 1 and spread out that $10.34 million cap hit, similar to what the Steelers did with Drew Brees this year.
The Steelers who started the offseason around $25 million over the salary cap are now projected to be around $3.6 million under the cap floor for 2021. The team has a number of free agents and work to do with their cap but this was the big one to get done first.
OTC 2021 Free Agency Guide
Welcome to our very first OTC Football Free Agency Guide, a 240 page PDF that not only offers a preview of some of the top free agents in 2021 but an in-depth review of how teams have successfully (and not so successfully) utilized free agency in the past. The book hits on many of the topics that we discuss on OTC or social media outlets when we get into opinions on free agency as well as a unique retroactive look at free agency that is an area not really focused on in the past.
The book is broken down into three sections and includes the following:
Free Agent Outcomes From 2015 to 2019
We look back at how much every team spent on free agents between 2015 and 2019 and how that spending translated into wins in the season of signing. We look at results of offensive and defensive spending based on the team’s prior seasons record to identify some of the biggest spenders in the NFL and what spending levels have brought some success. We further break down spending by position to compare the results based on spending levels and with the control groups who did not spend on a particular position in the offseason.
Individual Positional Outcomes From 2014 to 2020
We go back and look at every UFA who switched teams from 2014 to 2020 to identify contract expectations based on the size and length of a contract. Contracts are grouped in different ways to determine the expected years to be completed on a contract and ultimate contract outcome. We grouped every position into different salary tiers and compared the average various statistical performances in the two years leading up to free agency with how those groups performed in the year they switched teams and, where applicable, in future years.
Free Agent Projections for 2021
Finally, we have profiles of 77 unrestricted free agents that include thoughts on each player, their OTC valuation metric performance over the last two years, a list of five potential comparable players and how they compare statistically with the free agent and the key metrics of those contract to help frame the market of the player. Finally, we arrive at a projection that includes years, average annual value, and guarantee.
If you are a premium subscriber you already have access to the OTC 2021 Football Free Agency Guide and you can download it from the link in the premium menu. If you are interested in becoming a premium subscriber you can read here about some of the features that it includes to get you more depth in evaluating contracts, seeing more data on team construction, or preparing for free agency. If you do subscribe to premium you will be sent a second email with instructions for setting up the account. A few people have had these lost in spam filters and if that happens please let us know via the technical support form and we will get you the necessary link.
If you are not a subscriber you can purchase the guide as a standalone for $24.95.
We hope you enjoy this addition to OTC and we thank you for continuing to make OTC one of your football related destinations every week.