The Steelers have gotten out of most of their bad contracts in recent years, but this particular player hasn’t been worth the money he is earning.
We’ve seen around the league how bad contracts can set a franchise back. This offseason, the Jacksonville Jaguars handed slot receiver a 4-year, $72 million deal — one I’m sure they will later come to regret.
Fortunately, the Steelers haven’t had many of these poor deals in recent years. While I was one of the few who opposed making Ben Roethlisberger the second-highest paid player in the NFL back in 2019 (as they were clearly paying for past production), his contract will be off the books after the team eats roughly $10 million in cap space due to his voidable year contract.
This offseason, the Steelers had more money to spend in free agency than they’ve ever had before. However, that doesn’t mean that everyone one the team has been worth their weight in gold.
Right now, the Steelers are paying top-dollar to T.J. Watt, but he’s a generational talent. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award winner has already shown that he has been worth his money. So who currently has the worst contract on the team?
Tuitt’s contract is the worst on the Steelers
Just last year, I argued that Stephon Tuitt had the best contract on the team. However, another restructure and taking a full year off from football can change things in a hurry.
When the Steelers signed Tuitt to a 5-year, $60 million deal back in 2017, this had the feel of a contract that could have been one of the better deals handed out to an NFL defensive player. Tuitt was just 24 years old at the time but was very impressive when healthy.
Unfortunately, good health was never a guarantee, and Pittsburgh took a risk when they handed him all of this money despite missing multiple games in three straight seasons.
Now the benefits might not outweigh the risk. Though Tuitt was making just $12 million annually, another contract restructures sets his cap number at nearly $14 million for the 2022 season, according to Over the Cap. In addition, the Steelers are set to eat over $4.75 million in dead money in 2023 thanks to the voidable year Kevin Colbert tacked onto his deal in an effort to save money last offseason.
Aside from Tuitt (who hasn’t played football in over a year), Devin Bush might have the second-worst contract currently on the team. Though he’s in the final year of his rookie deal, he is costing the Steelers $6 million against the cap this season — a number he clearly hasn’t been worth based on years past.
Though Tuitt has the potential to prove doubters wrong if he returns to the field and can stay healthy, the chances of both of those things happening this year seem slim — especially considering his lengthy injury history.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a decision to make when it comes to Stephon Tuitt’s contract. Right now, it’s the worst on the team, and he really needs to come back strong in order to be worth what he is costing the team this season. We will see how the Steelers proceed from here.