Steelers Crushed Jalen Ramsey Contract

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers massively shook up their own roster and the NFL this offseason. The blockbuster trade that sent Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins and brought Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith to the Steelers was a seismic shift in the league. It’s a change that the Steelers and the NFL are still settling down from, but with training camp a week away the road to the 2025 season is about to begin.

With Ramsey’s arrival to the Steelers, the issue of his contract was a big one After the trade was finalized, it was quickly announced that the organization had given Ramsey a bit of a raise for the upcoming season, as well as guaranteeing more money to Jonnu Smith. Even with the raise on Ramsey’s deal, the exact terms of his contract were a mystery. The NFLPA’s salary cap page provided insight into what should be the full details of his contract.

The most important thing is the salary cap hit Ramsey’s contract has. For a superstar player it’s suprisingly low, but not representative of the total cash he’ll earn in 2025. After the restructuring done, Ramsey will count $4.9 million against the team’s cap.

As far as actual money goes, Ramsey is set to make a bit more. The Dolphins had already paid out his roster bonus of $4 million and agreed to take on an additional $3 million of his bonus option this season well, leaving the Steelers on the hook for just under $16 million of the remaining bonus. Between his bonuses and base salary, the Steelers will spend roughly $19.5 million on Ramsey this season. Factoring in the money the Dolphins paid him as well, he’ll finish the season making a tidy $26.5 million.

With the contract situation resolved, the Steelers now have even more salary cap space available. According to the daily report from the NFLPA, the Steelers began the day with over $25 million in salary cap space. With the negotiations ongoing with T.J. Watt and the need to improve the secondary and possibly the wide receiver room still, the team has plenty of money at their disposal to address those needs.