As the latest chapter in their offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers handed out large contracts to a pair of rotational players. Tight end Darnell Washington shares time with Pat Freiermuth, and EDGE rusher Nick Herbig splits snaps with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. On paper, the deals might seem foolishly excessive for guys who won\u2019t see 80 percent of the reps. ESPN\u2019s Brooke Pryor says Pittsburgh calculates its spending through a different lens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey lock them up early because they know that this salary cap is gonna go up every single year,\u201d Pryor said during a Friday appearance on SportsCenter. \u201cThey\u2019re gonna be more expensive on the free agent market. And these are guys who, even not as official starters, are huge contributors now and going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the COVID year exception, the salary cap has spiked annually. Last year saw another big jump, exceeding $300 million for the first time in history. That figure will increase again in 2027 and beyond as the league continues global expansion. Future rights deals could explode the numbers<\/a> by the end of the decade.<\/p>\n Naturally, that gives every team more room to spend. Pittsburgh is prioritizing its young talent and finally signing draft picks to large second contracts, something the organization has struggled to do for years.<\/p>\n In principle, that\u2019s important. On the field, Washington and Herbig are talented and offer plenty of value. Washington is the league\u2019s best blocking tight end, who showed his receiving chops with 31 catches last year. Herbig is an efficient and high-impact player. His nine forced fumbles since being drafted rank sixth in the NFL despite playing just 1,200 defensive snaps, far fewer than most of those around him.<\/p>\n With both paid, the Steelers have large contracts in both rooms. Washington and Freiermuth at tight end, Herbig, Watt, and Highsmith at linebacker. Pryor says there\u2019s another reason for that.<\/p>\n \u201cPlus, they\u2019re probably gonna have a rookie quarterback in the near future. So they can afford to pay some other positions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Teams with young franchise quarterbacks, like Drake Maye and the New England Patriots, take advantage of their window with a cheap contract. In an inverted sense, Pittsburgh is the same. The Steelers lack a long-term quarterback solution, but will likely enter 2027 starting Will Howard, Drew Allar, or a rookie draft pick. All will be cheap and count little against the salary cap. Money is freed up to spend elsewhere.<\/p>\n