Before dumping contracts and/or forcing players to take pay cuts, the Steelers are willing to give out millions in signing bonuses in exchange for the ability to push cap dollars into future years.
A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that cornerback Ike Taylor, who signed a four-year deal with the Steelers before the 2011 season, has converted the maximum amount of his $5.75 million base salary for 2012 into a signing bonus. Since the minimum base salary for a player with Taylor’s experience is $825,00, the team was able to give him $4.925 million now.
The maneuver pushed $3.28 million in cap space into future years, pushing the total cap space created by three restructurings to nearly $15 million. The Steelers created $11.7 million by pushing the maximum amount of their 2012 compensation into the form of a signing bonus for linebackers LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons.
After getting torched by the Broncos in the 2011 wild-card round, Taylor should be thrilled he didn’t see his $5.75 million base salary converted into a one-way ticket out of town.