Earlier this month, it was reported by Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 Houston that the Steelers reworked the contract for the 2024 season of inside linebacker Cole Holcomb.

#Steelers added $3.1 million in 2024 split and base guarantees for Cole Holcomb with renegotiation, in addition to $4.92 million total guaranteed from 2023 contract

— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 2, 2024

At the time the Steelers made this adjustment to Holcombs‘s contract, it did not affect their salary cap because all the same money was still potentially due to Holcomb if he returned for the start of the regular season. Now Holcomb has a split contract in 2024 to where if he is not on the 53-man roster but instead is on the Reserve/Injured List (IR) or the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List (PUP), he would only receive a portion of his salary. For many players, especially those with smaller deals, having a split contract is normal. These contracts often occur with rookie deals and league-minimum contracts. With the large NFL contracts, there typically is not any sort of split contract.

There are plenty of examples of players on the Steelers with a split contract where they are not paid as much when they are on IR. In 2022, Calvin Austin only saw $431k of his $705k base salary as that was his portion of the split contract which saved the Steelers $274k against the salary cap. The same was true for Cory Trice in 2023 as he only received $450k of his $750k base salary while he was on IR. The exact structure when it comes to a split contract is sometimes what holds up a player signing their rookie deal as they are negotiating these terms.

As for Cole Holcomb, he was a player who did not have a split salary as part of his three year, $18 million contract with the Steelers. But Holcomb was due to count $7.64 million against the Steelers salary cap this year in the form of his $1.64 million prorated signing bonus and a $6 million base salary. What the Steelers appeared to do with the renegotiation of the Holcomb’s deal was create a split contract where he would make $3.1 million if he were on IR or PUP, an amount the Steelers fully guaranteed, and the other $2.9 million would only be paid if Holcomb was on the active roster. With Holcomb on PUP to start the season, the Steelers gained an extra $2.9 million in salary cap space for the season, at least for now.

If or when Holcomb comes off of PUP this season, part of the $2.9 million will be added to his salary cap number. The exact amount is found by prorating out the $2.9 million for all 18 weeks of the season, which comes to just over $161k each week. At the point Holcomb lands backs on the 53 man roster, he would make $161k more each game for the rest of the season. For example, if Holcomb returns after missing eight games for the final 10 games the regular season, his salary cap number would be based on his $3.1 million guaranteed salary, the $1.64 million prorated signing bonus, and the $1.61 million bump in his salary that was remaining from the split salary ($161k times 10 games), coming to a grand total of just over $6.35 million against the salary cap.

For now, instead of the scheduled $7.64 million cap number for Holcomb, he will count $4.74 million while on the PUP list. When he gets moved to the 53 man roster, if he does, his new cap number will be based on how many weeks are left in the season. While on PUP, Holcomb makes 1/18th of $3.1 million each week and if he comes off of PUP, he makes 1/18th of $6 million. When it comes to the salary cap, players count according to their current status, not the possibility of when they could return. Another example of this is Cam Sutton who does not receive any pay while he is suspended. He does not count at all on the salary cap for this coming year until he returns and then his remaining salary is what would be his cap number.

When the announcement of a new structure in Holcomb’s contract was made in early August, it was obvious the Steelers were expecting him to land on PUP to start the year. In making this change, Holcomb at least receives a guaranteed $3.1 million from the Steelers this year and does not have to be concerned about being released. In the meantime, the Steelers get some savings on the salary cap for a player who is not on the field. For the Steelers, this was an easy decision if they want to option of keeping Holcomb for 2025. For Holcomb, it is better to get just over half his money guaranteed rather than risk getting none of it as he recovers from injury.

When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers salary cap situation now that they are down to 53 players on the roster, there are still some other numbers that need crunched and are not available due to the players who will be signed to their practice squad. Once these are available, be on the lookout for a salary cap update here at Steel Curtain Network as the Steelers head into the 2024 regular season.