The 2025 NFL season officially ended this past Sunday with Super Bowl LX and on the heels of that annual championship game being played, it’s time to look at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ initial 2026 offseason salary cap situation. Consider this the first update and look ahead to the start of the 2026 NFL year in March.
So, where do we start with this initial 2026 salary cap look ahead for the Steelers? First, I should point out that the projected 2026 NFL salary cap amount I am using is $303.5 million. That projection is based off the latest news related to the NFL’s 2026 cap increase. However, the projected amount I am using might wind up being a bit on the conservative side. While we won’t know the actual 2026 NFL salary cap amount until a few weeks ahead of new league year starting in March, $303.5 million is a good place to start this far out, as it should be a bit on the conservative side.
Since the Steelers’ 2025 season ended, the team has signed 22 players to Reserve/Future contracts. The Steelers currently have 61 players under contract for the start of the 2026 league year in March. That is well above the offseason Rule of 51. All 61 players under contract with the Steelers at the time of this post are shown in the table image below, which is complete with the breakdown of each deal.
Now for some deeper clarification on several players under contract for the 2026 season.
Veteran DB Jalen Ramsey will probably cause the most commotion this offseason when it comes to his projected 2026 salary cap charge. That’s because he has an option bonus in the amount of $7.4 million due in late August. Ramsey’s 2026 salary cap charge, assuming he remains on the roster all offseason, is likely to be either $17.229 million or $23.149 million, depending on whether the Steelers prorate his $7.4 million option bonus in late August.
Technically, and according to former NFL agent Joel Corry of CBS Sports, Ramsey’s 2026 salary cap charge is listed at $17.229 million. That’s because the NFLPA and NFLMC both treat players with option bonuses as being exercised and prorated out through the allowed periods. For the sake of this salary cap update, I’m going to assume that Steelers won’t exercise proration for Ramsey’s option bonus because 2026 is likely to be his last season with the team.
Should the Steelers indeed hold on to Ramsey this offseason, and they do prorate his $7.4 million option bonus in late August, his cap charge would likely lower from $23.149 million to $17.229 million, a decrease of $5.92 million, which is quite a bit of salary cap space acquired for late in an offseason.
Moving past the confusing outlook for Ramsey and his contract, please note that the 2026 base salaries I am working with for CB Joey Porter Jr., TE Darnell Washington, and OLB Nick Herbig are all estimated due to each player qualifying for a Proven Performance Escalator raise this offseason.
Their PPE raises are based on the percentage of the NFL salary cap increase from 2025 to 2026. Currently, and as mentioned earlier in this post, the projected 2026 NFL salary cap number we are working with in this look ahead is $303.5 million. Any differences from that estimated 2026 cap number from the final official cap number will be reflected in the base salaries of those three players.
With the expanded explanations of the estimated contract numbers for Ramsey, Porter, Washington, and Herbig out of the way, we can move forward with a breakdown of the Steelers’ 2026 salary cap situation with the offseason now officially underway.
For starters, the Steelers are expected to carry over $16,907,294 of unused 2025 salary cap space into 2026. We should get the official word on that very soon. Based off that expected 2025 carryover amount, in addition to an estimated 2026 NFL salary cap amount of $303.5 million, the Steelers’ projected adjusted team salary cap amount is $320,407,294.
Next, the Steelers’ Rule of 51 total for the start of the 2026 league year in March is currently estimated to be $281,533,124. That amount not only includes the top 51 salary cap charges for 2026, but also the team’s current total of dead money charges for the offseason. That amount of 2026 dead money currently sits at $7,934,338 for 12 players. A breakdown of that 2026 dead money by player is listed in a table image below. That list of dead money charges is certain to grow throughout the offseason as well.
Based on the Steelers’ current Rule of 51 total, the team is estimated to have $38,874,170 in available salary cap space. Once again, this projected amount of available salary cap space includes Ramsey at his highest possible 2026 salary cap charge. It also includes estimated 2026 salary cap charges for Porter, Washington, and Herbig, all of which are tied to what the official league salary cap number ultimately is set at.
The $38,874,170 in estimated available salary cap space is quite a hefty amount to work with, especially early in the offseason and when it comes to the free agency signing period. Because of that amount being so high, I do not expect the team will need to do any contract restructuring this spring, and perhaps not even throughout the entire offseason.
Should, however, the Steelers need additional salary cap space during the offseason, WR DK Metcalf and TE Pat Freiermuth are the likeliest candidates for such maneuvers. Full restructuring of the Metcalf and Freiermuth contracts would create $17.775 million and $6.6425 million in 2026 salary cap space, respectively.
Now, as usual, I like to look ahead to forthcoming projected offseason cap costs the Steelers can expect to have to account for. These offseason projected cap costs are all broken down in the table of figures image below. These forthcoming projected offseason cap costs include workout bonus charges, the draft class and undrafted free agent pool offset charges, 52nd and 53rd player charges post Rule of 51 ending, a full 17-man practice squad, all offseason injury settlements, potential players being on the Reserve/Injured list to start the regular season, and an in-season buffer amount of cap space to work with throughout the 2026 regular season.
These projected amounts, along with a description of each, are included in the table of figures image below. The estimated total for forthcoming projected offseason cap costs is $20,787,900. Most of these projected offseason cap costs won’t come into play until much later in the offseason. Even so, they are important to be aware of, and budgeted for, nonetheless.
All told, the Steelers currently have a projected an estimated 2026 effective usable salary cap amount of $18,086,270. Don’t be alarmed by that lower figure, however. It is tied to the aforementioned forthcoming estimated projected offseason cap costs.
With the start of the 2026 NFL league year now just a little more than a month away at the time of this post, we can probably expect the Steelers to cut a few players currently under contract by late March. A realistic list of players who could have their contracts terminated within a week of the start of the 2026 NFL league year includes Ramsey, ILB Patrick Queen, TE Jonnu Smith, and ILB Malik Harrison.
Should Ramsey wind up being jettisoned right after the start of the 2026 NFL league year, and before his scheduled $2 million roster bonus is due, I suspect he would be desginated as a post-June 1 cut. Such a transaction would ultimately clear $19.5 million in 2026 salary cap space post June 1 based on his projected $23.149 million cap number.
Cutting Ramsey with a post-June 1 designation would result in a 2026 dead money charge of $3.649 million and a 2027 dead money charge of $10.947 million. As I wrote recently on the site, it could go either way with Ramsey’s 2026 future this offseason. At the very least, we should know if the Steelers think Ramsey is worth $19.5 million in cash in 2026 by March 13. That’s when his $2 million roster bonus is due and when another $3.5 million of his contract becomes fully guaranteed.
As for Queen, while he is probably likely to survive his $2.5 million roster bonus due date of March 15, the team could plausibly cut him before then and thus save $13.33 million in 2026 salary cap space prior to his roster spot displacement in the Rule of 51. March 15 is a key date to watch for when it comes to Queen’s offseason future.
When it comes to Smith and Harrison, it’s very reasonable to expect both players to be cut this offseason and potentially right before the start of the 2026 NFL year in March. The cutting of Smith and Harrison this offseason would clear $7 million and $4.75 million in 2026 salary cap space, respectively, prior to roster spot displacement in the Rule of 51.
Moving past potential early offseason contract terminations that the Steelers may or may not have, it’s important to start thinking ahead to potential offseason extensions the team might have as well. That list of potential offseason contract extension candidates should likely include Porter, Washington, Herbig, DT Keeanu Benton, and K Chris Boswell. Once we get past the start of free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft, we will take a closer look at all possible contract extension candidates and the potential impact on the team’s 2026 salary cap situation for each as well.
In closing, this 2026 Steelers salary cap outlook post should give all of you a much clearer picture of what the team’s situation looks like heading into the start of the new league year in March. The initial and possible contract terminations in the middle of March should present an even clearer outlook of the team’s salary cap situation.
As for this initial 2026 Steelers salary cap outlook when it comes to the free agency signing period, the team is in great shape overall as $38,874,170 in available space should be more than enough to work with through well beyond the draft.
As usual, you can expect more frequent salary cap update posts from me in the coming weeks and months, and especially right after the NFL sets the official cap number for the 2026 season, which should be a week or two prior to new league year getting underway in the first part of March. Additionally, I will have a forthcoming post on the cash spending outlook for the 2026 Steelers. That should give us a much better idea of the kind of spending the team will ultimately do this offseason when it comes to free agency and contract extensions.
If you have any questions about anything included in this post, please feel free to post them in the comments below and I will do my best to answer each in a timely manner.