The Pittsburgh Steelers officially lost a little more of their available 2026 salary cap space on Friday because the team’s offseason workout bonus amount was finalized. The total of that cap debit was $668,513, according to the NFLPA public salary cap report
The offseason workout bonus charge is related to players who attended sessions throughout the various phases for any workouts or classroom instruction in which they participated in, pursuant to a team’s voluntary offseason workout program. This also includes OTA practices. Eligible players receive $340 per day, per the NFL’s CBA
Usually, teams budget for 36 days for a full offseason program so eligible players could earn up to $12,240 in compensation. Usually, a placeholder amount for 80 players is utilized by teams during the offseason. This year that placeholder amount was $979,200. The Steelers’ actual offseason workout bonus charge came in just over $300,000 under that placeholder amount
As of Saturday morning, the Steelers are $4,952,522 under the cap when it comes to their Rule of 51 total. That amount does include the one-year contract that ILB Elandon Roberts recently signed. That amount, however, does not include the recent contract extension signed by DT Keeanu Benton. Benton’s 2026 salary cap charge figures to increase by roughly $3.6 million as a result of his new deal
There is also an outstanding injury settlement charge for former OL Lorenzo Thompson that still needs to hit the books officially. That cap charge for that settlement figures to be around $90,882
The Steelers are expected to restructure a contract or two before the start of the 2026 regular season. Prime candidates for restructuring include WR DK Metcalf, OLB T.J. Watt, and OLB Alex Highsmith. The team might also decide to terminate the contract of ILB Malik Harrison before the start of the regular season, especially because of the recent signing of Roberts. $4.75 million in 2026 salary cap space prior to top 51 roster displacement can be cleared should Harrison wind up being jettisoned.
The Steelers will still need to budget for a 52nd and 53rd player on their roster in addition to a 17-man practice squad. Additionally, the team now has over $1.5 million in cap charges for players on their Reserve/Injured list that might need to be accounted for come Week 1. More injury settlements could happen in the next several weeks as well
CB Joey Porter Jr. is yet another player that could sign a contract extension prior to the start of the regular season. Porter’s 2026 salary cap charge is likely to increase by as much as $2 million should he ultimately sign a contract extension in the coming weeks
Another thing to consider is that the Steelers will likely want to enter the 2026 regular season with at least $5-$7 million in available salary cap space for in-season signings and roster elevations
I will provide a full recap of the Steelers’ 2026 salary cap situation as soon as the full details of the Benton extension are made public. That might not be until Monday at the earliest, however
