Whether it's head coach Mike Tomlin, general manager Omar Khan, or team president Art Rooney II, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made it abundantly clear that they would like Aaron Rodgers to be part of the team. But this team has praised players in the past who they had no interest in adding to their roster (Shedeur Sanders is the latest example). If you can't take them at their word, just look at Pittsburgh's salary cap situation.
On Thursday, 2025 first-round pick Derrick Harmon officially put pen to paper and signed his four-year, fully guaranteed rookie contract. And now that the Steelers' entire rookie class is signed, we can see how much is left over and what sort of check the front office can cut Rodgers.
According to the latest figures from Over the Cap, the Pittsburgh Steelers have roughly $31.9 million in salary cap space. This ranks 7th in the NFL and puts them in the company of only eight other teams with upwards of $30 million in cap space. Five teams currently have under $10 million in cap space, while nine teams have under $15 million to work with.
This $31.9 million cap figure for the Steelers is with 90 players currently under contract heading into the summer. If you take their top-51 players (who are projected to be on the roster this year) this number goes up slightly.
The money Khan and the front office still have to work with is more than enough to get Rodgers under contract, and the fact that Pittsburgh saved this much in salary cap space seems to indicate that they are confident the four-time MVP quarterback will be joining their team in 2025.
The Pittsburgh Steelers saved salary cap space specifically for an Aaron Rodgers contract
It's important to add a bit more context to the Steelers' salary cap situation. While they do have nearly $32 million in salary cap space, this doesn't take into account the cushion the front office likes to have entering the season. In the event of in-season injuries and inevitable free agent additions, Khan likes to keep roughly $6-8 million on hand for a 'break glass in case of emergency' situation.
When you factor that in, the Steelers still have roughly $24-26 million they could be willing to spend before the start of the season. Some have speculated that Rodgers' asking price could fall near this range. Though Rodgers appears to hold the leverage in negotiations as he knows Pittsburgh's desperation at the quarterback position, the team knows he has no other suitors for his services.
Even if Rodgers' pricetag comes in over this figure, the Steelers could add a void year to this deal or essentially hand him a phony two-year contract—one that would allow them to be more flexible with their 2025 spending, but would allow Pittsburgh to release him next offseason.
If needed, the Steelers could free up even more money by extending a player (like T.J. Watt) and backloading his contract or by restructuring a contract and converting money to a signing bonus. This likely won't be necessary to get a deal done.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that likes to spend up to the salary cap ceiling in most years, and they aren't leaving $31.9 million around for nothing. This cap space is meant specifically for Aaron Rodgers, and it's clear the organization believes a contract with the veteran quarterback will ultimately happen.