The Pittsburgh Steelers have been orchestrating their offseason with an intelligent approach to adding new names and faces. When you consider the shuffling at the quarterback position, they were able to completely re-vamp the quarterback room without increasing the amount of money given to the position. When you look at the financials of the Steelers offense, you can see how they were able to make moves while saving money in the process.

But that isn’t necessarily the theme with the team’s high-priced defense. In case you didn’t see, the Steelers have the most expensive defense in the NFL with players like T.J. Watt, Cameron Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Alex Highsmith all getting paid like some of the top players at their respective positions.

Most expensive #NFL defenses in 2024:

1) #Steelers – $149.4M
2) #Packers – $137.6M
3) #49ers – $128.6M
4) #Jaguars – $108.7M
5) #Patriots – $107.7M
6) #Falcons – $106.8M
7) #Jets – $103.7M
8) #Bears – $103.6M
9) #Buccaneers – $102.7M
10) #Ravens – $100.7M
11) #Commanders -… https://t.co/ZdoYF0tuyQ pic.twitter.com/H217W3cu5w

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) March 22, 2024

But what about the Steelers offense? Where do they rank among all this? As mentioned earlier, some of the offseason moves in 2024 have been getting players at near bargain-bin prices. Throw in the fact a good majority of the players are still on rookie contracts, players like Pat Freiermuth, George Pickens, Najee Harris, Broderick Jones, Dan Moore Jr., and you can see how the Steelers offense isn’t nearly as expensive as the defense.

Where do they rank at this stage of the 2024 offseason? Try dead-last…

Most expensive offenses in 2024:

1. $188.8M – Browns
2. $178.1M – Rams
3. $158.3M – Cowboys
4. $152.8M – Chiefs
5. $151.1M – Broncos
6. $148.5M – Giants
7. $146.5M – Cardinals
8. $141.6M – Falcons
9. $138.5M – 49ers
10. $135.9M – Colts
11. $135.2M – Panthers
12. $133.0M – Saints…

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) March 22, 2024

Much has been made about this discrepancy, but it just boils down to the way the Steelers have approached the offense and defense the past 5-10 years. It almost seem cyclical with the way they draft, and that has resulted in players like Minkah and T.J. Watt getting paid to stick around. Meanwhile, the offense is extremely young and the organization will have to make tough decisions on several players in the near future. With those decisions will be more money for the offensive players, and the roster pay finding more of an equilibrium.

If/when the Steelers finally find their next franchise quarterback, those numbers will even out quickly when it comes to how the position is being paid in recent years. So, to sum things up, this discrepancy is present, but not as severe as some media members might want to let you believe.

Be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of the 2024 offseason.