How much the Steelers' 2023 draft class is projected to cost the team
Eight new players were drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers last week as the franchise looks to re-enter the playoff picture in the second year of the Kenny Pickett era. The main benefit of having a quarterback on a rookie contract is the financial flexibility of not paying that quarterback a humungous contract. Pickett has a few […]
Eight new players were drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers last week as the franchise looks to re-enter the playoff picture in the second year of the Kenny Pickett era.
The main benefit of having a quarterback on a rookie contract is the financial flexibility of not paying that quarterback a humungous contract. Pickett has a few years of low cap hits remaining on his deal, which allows Pittsburgh to load up their roster as much as possible.
Knocking the draft out of the park never hurts in conjunction with this plan, and it looks like the Steelers did just that. But what does it mean for the Steelers in terms of the salary cap? Let's examine the numbers.
So, how much will the Steelers' 2023 draft class cost?
Per Over The Cap, the Steelers' draft class will count $4,287,285 against the salary cap in 2023, reflected by the offseason top-51 rule. They currently have about $7.5 million in cap space, so they'll be able to sign the class without a problem.
For 2023, the class totals $9,537,285, which is the fourteenth-highest projected total for the season. Despite only having eight picks, Pittsburgh's three picks in the top 50 will cost them a little over $6 million in cap space this year.
In all, it'll cost the Steelers $51,286,896 in its entirety. That is if all of the picks stay on the team throughout the entire duration of their rookie deals, of course.
Below is OTC's projection of how much each pick will count against the cap in 2023:
- Round 1, Pick 14: $3,022,975
- Round 2, Pick 32: $1,748,790
- Round 2, Pick 49: $1,333,297
- Round 3, Pick 93: $973,439
- Round 4, Pick 132: $918,230
- Round 7, Pick 241: $771,109
- Round 7, Pick 251: $769,445
And here's the projected total value of each contract:
- Round 1, Pick 14: $16,626,364
- Round 2, Pick 32: $9,618,348
- Round 2, Pick 49: $7,333,132
- Round 3, Pick 93: $5,353,916
- Round 4, Pick 132: $4,512,920
- Round 7, Pick 241: $3,924,436
- Round 7, Pick 251: $3,917,780
