5 reasons current Pittsburgh Steelers tight ends are a waste of money

Combined tight end salaries are far too high

When you look at each player individually, it doesn’t appear that Either tight has horrible contract numbers. Sure, we’d like to see the Steelers retain McDonald cheaper, and some have even said that Ebron was a steal for Pittsburgh this offseason. But upon further examination, you will find that isn’t the truth at all.

McDonald and Ebron are the 12th and 14th most expensive players on the team, respectively. While the team was able to structure their contracts in a way that makes their cap manageable for the 2020 season, they combine to average over $10 million per season on their current deals, according to Over the Cap.

Next year, Ebron and McDonald will combine for a salary of $16.4 million. This is more money than George Kittle or Travis Kelce make in a year on their massive new extension. It’s highly unlikely that either McDonald or Ebron will be on the team next year with those cap hits – especially if they don’t step up their game soon. They are getting paid far too much money combined for the limited production.