Steelers free up $18 million in cap space by restructuring DK Metcalf’s contract

The Steelers were dead last in the NFL in available salary cap space for the 2026 season. Now, they’re not.

Field Yates of ESPN reports that the Steelers have restructured the contract of wide receiver DK Metcalf, converting most of his $25 million base salary into a signing bonus, which creates almost $18 million in cap space that the team can use this year, and moves that money into future years’ salary caps.

For Metcalf, it’s a simple restructuring that doesn’t affect how much he gets paid this season.

Prior to restructuring Metcalf’s deal, the Steelers had very little money available under the salary cap with the offseason rules that count only the 51 highest-paid players on the 90-player roster toward the salary cap. Once the regular season starts, all players under contract count toward the salary cap — not just the 53 players on the active roster, but also players on injured reserve and the practice squad. That means the Steelers needed to make a move.

Now, they have. With $18 million in additional cap space, the Steelers have some breathing room under the cap.