Steelers

Steelers Restructure Five Players, Including Ben Roethlisberger, Free Up $20M In Cap Space

March 17, 2020

According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers created $20 million in cap space by restructuring contracts for five players, including QB Ben Roethlisberger.

Roethlisberger’s restructure saved $9.975 million, per Over The Cap. Other players restructured include:

TE Vance McDonald ($2.3 million cap savings)
K Chris Boswell ($976,667)
CB Steven Nelson ($3.67 million)
CB Joe Haden ($2.975 million)

Dulac says all five had their base salaries in 2020 converted to signing bonuses to spread out the hit over the remainder of their contracts.

Roethlisberger, 37, is a former first-round pick of the Steelers back in 2004. He finalized a three-year, $68 million contract last offseason that included a $37.5 million signing bonus.

Roethlisberger stands to make base salaries of $2,500,000 and $8,500,000 over the next two years of the agreement.

In 2019, Roethlisberger appeared in two games and completed 56.5 percent of his passes for 351 yards, no touchdowns and one interception.

Haden, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Browns back in 2010. He was in the fourth year of his six-year, $74.678 million contract when the Browns officially cut him loose coming out of the preseason in 2017.

The Steelers quickly signed Haden to a three-year, $27 million contract soon after he was cut. He was set to make a base salary of $10 million for the 2019 season when he signed a two-year, $22 million extension before the start of the season.

In 2019, Haden played in all 16 games for the Steelers and recorded 65 tackles, one forced fumble, one recovery, five interceptions and 17 pass defenses for the Steelers. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 32 cornerback out of 113 qualifying players.

Nelson, 27, is a former third-round pick of the Chiefs back in 2015. He finished his four-year, $2.902 million rookie contract with the Chiefs and signed a three-year, $25.5 million deal with the Steelers in 2019.

In 2019, Nelson appeared in 15 games for the Steelers and recorded 61 total tackles, one fumble recovery, one interception and eight pass defenses. Pro Football Focus rated him as the No. 6 overall cornerback out of 113 qualifying players.

McDonald, 29, is a former second-round pick of the 49ers back in 2013. He was in the final year of his rookie contract when the 49ers signed him to a new five-year, $35 million extension, but he was later traded to the Steelers in exchange for a 2018 fifth-round pick.

In 2019, McDonald appeared in 14 games and caught 38 passes for 273 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No.66 tight end out of 67 qualifying players.