The Terrible Podcast — Talking Steelers Signing DT Cameron Heyward To New Contract & More

welcome to the terrible podcast with your host from Steelers depot.com where you can find all your latest and greatest Steelers news it's Dave briyan and Alex kazora always lit talking Steelers and now here's Dave and [Music] Alex welcome to the terrible podcast season 15 episode 19 he day bran I'm Alex kazor Steelers depot.com bit of an emergency episode today and for all good reasons as the Pittsburgh Steelers and cim Hayward have reached a contract extension Topline numbers three years $45 million will put him through Pittsburgh I believe until 2026 and should keep Hayward stealer the remainder of his NFL career so Dave can break down the numbers we'll dive into it kind of mini episode today but the deal is done Dave yeah we won't take up uh people's time but just wanted to get something out there because I I bet there's going to be a lot of misinformation to follow along uh with this but uh look this thing went kind of right along the ways that we thought it might uh talking most of the offseason here it sounds like now look we're still waiting for exact numbers of the base salaries but I think the way Jeremy Fowler who broke the story uh laid it out it makes a lot of sense here uh as you mentioned the total value of the deal 2024 to to 2026 is $45 million cam Hayward was already set to earn $16 million in 2024 uh the two the new money of this deal is $29 million and that will probably be distributed over 20 2025 2026 probably either 14 million and $15 million base salaries or 145 million and 14.5 million or something along those lines but you know in essence what happened here is he was already scheduled to earn that 16 million in 2024 they turned a chunk of that into a signing bonus it sounds like all but 1.21 million of it because that's the minimum base salary he can have for his vested years in 2024 so you get the pration of that which I believe the signing bonus should come in at 14.79% a base salary of 1.21 million that makes the same 16 million in 2024 you just moved the money around and given them a bulk of that uh as a signing bonus and obviously made all 16 million of that fully guaranteed it does not appear as though any guaranteed money passed 2024 that's something else that we've talked about and didn't expect to happen uh barring anything coming in says otherwise I would would bet that's the case there and yeah in essence his his new money average actually drops down to 14.5 million I think somewhere along the lines in one of the podcast we laid out either like 28 million or 29 million in new money and it looks like it's coming in at 29 million uh as far as cap Savings in 2024 uh it sounds like his cap number will drop 9 86 million uh which would be expected according to the you know the way this thing's formatted so to be honest with you I know people are all ringing their hands and all but what this is It's a glorified restructure Alex uh they restructured his 2024 money uh turned bulk of it into a signing bonus they added on two new years to the deal that total out at 29 million and once again we'll have to see how that split up over 2025 and 20 26 and if there's you know any any of that money in 2025 that's broken down by a roster bonus in March we have to see about that but I think we just got I mean that's just that that's that's the guts of it there uh overall and uh it gives him the ability to play two additional years past this year and it also gives the ability to for the Steelers to cut bait say you know ideally you don't you want him to sign this deal and you want him to play it out that's the best case scenario but you know if there's a huge drop off or another injury in 20 you know uh uh you can get out of this with minimal uh dead money uh charges because his pration his bonus pration now in 2025 and 2026 should be 4.93 million uh each uh of those years so just a little bit of uh little bit under $10 million total at risk in dead money so you hope that he plays it out and and but if he doesn't let's say he only makes it through 2025 well then the dead money charg is just $ 4.93 million for 2026 which is peanuts to what the salary cap will be you know a couple years from now so Dave congrats to you I think you nailed this one the whole way in terms of the structure and the layout and the no new money aspect and then we're still waiting on some final details but that seems to be the way this deal is set up and you've paired it in the past and is it still true that this is very similar to what happened to Heath Miller and Trey Paul Malo about a decade ago is that a fairway to probably assess his contract yeah obviously the numbers with hayward's deal are are much higher than the salaries were back then but that's exactly what they did uh several years ago with Troy palalo and and and and uh Heath Miller uh as part of because they needed that cap space that year so it ended up being no new money for either one of those guys in in that current year they tacked on two additional years for both of them and both of them as I wrote in that post several weeks ago ended up with lower new money averages uh which is uh indeed looks like is the case with Cameron Hayward so yeah the structure-wise they did the same thing with Cam Hayward that they did with uh Troy palolo and Heath Miller the only difference is obviously the numbers are different because you're dealing with different variables and different base salaries but they did with Troy is they turned a bulk of his base salary that year into a signing bonus uh and then added two years and they did the same thing with Heath Miller so everything uh look this wasn't for someone who follows it like I do this wasn't kind of rocket science or heart surgery you know to kind of figure out the course it may may go uh what took so long cam was probably wanting more new more new money in 2024 above the 16 million but logic and his age and everything probably told you uh he wasn't going to get that uh there so uh this thing went exactly the way I expected it to go and now we just wait to find out the exact details of the structure of 2025 and 2026 as far as the base salaries in each of those years and you think there could still be a potential roster bonus next march that may be included in this contract it it very well could be but if it was it would probably be what two and a half three million dollar so let's say let's say his take in 2025 was 14 a. half million uh let's say you you you you gave him a $12 million base salary and a$2 and a half million do roster bonus to to equal up to that same the total's not going to change it's just how how they break it up uh and obviously if you gave him a March roster bonus that's that much quicker he puts that money in the bank you know what I'm saying and a little bit of shity that I'll be a stealer in 2025 and and that gives you a little bit of as well right it acts as a trigger tying you to the franchise because the franchise it forces the the the the franchise to make a decision on you uh in March and then it also you know for the players more money in his pocket earlier in a calendar year on top of it there so will it go that way who knows I mean that that that's really the only mystery uh left in this right now is how they will actually structure 2025 versus base salary and if indeed part of you know if there's any roster bonus that that takes away from the base salary and that's why what you've laid out is so important and I understand because if you look at the initial tweet from Jeremy Fowler three years 45 million $16 million signing bonus his agency said it's the highest largest defensive contract signed by somebody his age 35 or older in NFL history that all sounds scary for a guy that is in his mid-30s coming up for grain surgery but when you you look at the details the lack of guarantee money as you laid out the the signing bonus coming from them reducing his base salary this year it's just moving that money around it's not new money that's the part that I think people understandably are missing because they're not all capologist the way that you are but that's why you explaining it is so important to I think hopefully calm at least some of the nerves that might come when you read the initial tweets and details of this contract yeah look he was already scheduled to earn 16 million in 2024 he's still earning 16 million in 2024 uh this is basically like I said it's a glorified restructure uh uh you're just adding on two new years of new money which none of which sound like that's guaranteed and then uh instead of that 16 million he was scheduled to earn in 2024 not being guaranteed now it's fully guaranteed you know that's that's all that was done here and look I I respect what they're trying to do in the media and the Agents you know doing that because they want it to that's their job to make this thing to to put as much lipstick on this thing as as as they can but in essence this is just a glorified restructure and the byproduct of that obviously is lowering his cap charge 9.86 million and we talked the other day I thought this Domino would be the first one to fall so that that cap hit would lower with him and then now I think we can expect the Pat firemouth Uh deal to follow here very quickly you better get over to your mom's and back real quick uh because we might have to do another one of these before midnight but uh uh and look I mean as far as the uh cap space goes right now there's obviously enough room for an increase in a Pat firemouth Uh extension because his cap numers should increase whatever his new extension is and there's still a little cap room for you know who if they wanted to get him if they wanted to give him a contract extension that is one niji Harris for those who who haven't heard uh Dave's Onan stand about that haris extension which we'll see we got a couple days and you expect fire move to happen yeah the question is or one of the many questions is what does Pittsburgh do with that additional cap space assuming a contract that is most likely from PR with how much cap space will that use uh in terms of the new deal in terms of 2024 how much will that take up uh I mean roughly uh let's see what is Pat farmu cap charge right now hold on a minute here I had all this to get an understanding of okay 9 million plus has been freed we assume Prim withth will lead into that how much is left over what is kind of the net cap space gain by the Hayward deal being done and the Assumption of the fouth one coming before Saturday night all right Pat fouth was scheduled is scheduled to ear to have a cap charge of 1.91 18057 okay so uh let's assume they keep keep his base salary the same as part of this deal okay okay uh and let's say they gave him a $13 million signing bonus now it all depends you know they going to go three additional years with them four additional years uh that's where you know we're going to find out here pretty soon but let's say they gave him a 13 let let's say they gave him a 12 million signing signing bonus uh hold on a minute here let me break out the old Abacus that Dave I'm sure has on standby are we going a threeyear extension yeah let's just do it at let's let's do it at three to start with so you would take that uh 12 million and you're adding on three additional years uh for a total of four years in total if you divided that by four that would rise his cap charge by another $3 million uh assuming they kept his base the same uh that way so you would use an additional $3 million rough ly on additional cap space above and beyond what it's set to be right now if they kept it Fri Mo's base salary the same they signed him to a three-year extension and as a part of that extension they gave him a $12 million signing bonus so three million on top that's about a $6 million net additional freeing of 2024 cap space after those two moves assuming that happens the way that she leaded out with r m right and see going into even the cam Hayward uh contract based projecting out the role of 51 uh and and and and the practice squad and all like that so this is prior to the cam Hayward uh hold on Mane I'm trying to pull it up here real quick uh prior to the cam Hayward deal uh I had them roughly let's call it 2 point uh let's call it 2.7 million two let's call it $2.8 million in available salary cap space and that's with the $5 million buffer in there that's with the practice squad in there that's all the post uh uh post rule of 51 uh stuff as well too right you take that 2.8 and what did I say they freed up with uh cam Hayward 9.86 so if you take that 2.8 and you add 9.86 that gives you 12.76 million and we just used another three million heck let let's let's shoot High let's say use $4 million in additional cap space uh uh with with with Pat firemouth as part of his deal uh that still leaves you 8.76 million in cap space and that's even after accounting for the $5 million buffer uh to go into the season with and it also accounts for the $4 million uh practice squad uh as well so you're going to tell me they're going to carry an extra what did I what did I say eight point 8.7 8.76 million in cap space in into the season yeah the question is that it's fun money you could always roll it over I guess into next year right you could if you're aggressive and make a trade for somebody at the deadline if you're pushing that's a possibility and of course there is the Naji Harris element as well but but that is going to be I think one looming question on the other side of of this contract and the fryou deal is what happens with that extra cash Pittsburgh has under the couch cushions right exactly uh will they will they just go into the season with all that additional cap room maybe thinking about a a a a a pre- deadline trade that's that's quite plausible and then like you said right so and like you said at the end of the season whatever cap space they don't use they can roll over now here's the other thing the whole cash conversation this this cam Hayward deal did not use up any additional cash uh in in in in in 2024 so whatever the new whatever this basically whatever the signing bonus is for uh Pat Firth will be new cash on the books for 2024 but even that's puts them kind of behind the eightball as far as cash spending goes for 2024 yeah now to be clear that cash spending would be the entire signing bonus that would not be the pro pration because that is the cap element not the cash element of how these things are calculated correct yes sir you are correct okay so there you go I I just want to go back to Hayward and just say this because I think it needs to be said there is certainly a feel-good element to the Hayward deal getting done and hopefully this cements his time in Pittsburgh and being a one helmet guy to be able to draft it as a Steeler play his entire career in Pittsburgh and retire as a Steeler I think it's really poetic that cam hayward's first game post contract is going to be in Atlanta on Sunday the place that he grew up place where his father played place where Conor Hayward caught his first touchdown it's where his dad is buried and that was his home for so much of his childhood and then he'll go back to Pittsburgh which is his NFL home I think that's that's really cool from that standpoint but I say that to say this is not the gold watch for con for cam Hayward this is not the charity you've been a great teammate a great guy here's your one last contract this is earned this is a guy to me that can still play and play at a high level I think even last year despite being on one leg he was his team's best defensive lineman he was their best run defense in Camp this year he looked healthy he looked strong he may not reach his peak of 11 12 sacks again I think historically guys his age even with him being an exception to many others who've not gotten to this point you haven't seen people hit that kind of status but I think he can still be a six seven sack guy be really good against the run and still be a really effective player this year and Beyond because his asset is his strength and his power and that tends to stay longer than it would be for a speed guy for a finesse Guy where that Withers away as you get into older age and so I think there's still good tread on those tires for cam Hayward I want to make that point this is not about you know what he did in the past this is what he can be right now and even in the future for Pittsburgh yeah they they basically told him you're we still value as a 14 a half million doll new money average guy and then the leadership aspect right yeah I mean that's certainly a huge element of it I'm not I wouldn't pay cam Heyward just for the leadership element of it it's a component a bonus on top of there a guy that understands your culture can teach face to the franchise Walter P you know everything on top of you know what what everything that you said plus that element on top of it is is is is bonus and props to you for tweeting that out about the uh going back to Atlanta and how really it's football Justice and cam Hayward saw that retweeted it and added his own uh his own own reply to it so uh that it it it it really makes the story all all that much better here and also let's be honest if Hayward played out this year and went somewhere else in 2025 who was replacing cim Hayward in Pittsburgh there really is not that guy evident I mean konu Benton can be a subpackage guy nickel guy but he's still no tackle in your base three4 which you're running still about onethird of the time which is still a heavy chunk of snaps and so Pittsburgh has not had that long-term replacement they need to find somebody sooner than later but at least you have some comfort in knowing assuming that heward can play at a reasonably reasonably high level he's still going to be your guy for the next let's say at least two seasons agreed so happy that it's done happy to get some movement here happy to have a contract that is not Brandon iuk for us to talk about and um yeah then we'll see about Pat fryou and nji Harris and anything else that comes up along the way yeah it should move fast now with Cam Hayward out of the way so we uh I don't know we'll see if we make it to Wednesday morning but uh we'll follow this up with another Fuller podcast episode uh on on on Wednesday morning obviously and we'll talk a little bit more but maybe the full numbers will be out by then but we wanted to get something up uh for the people today you got anything else dad nope we'll talk Tomlin Tuesday and everything else on the Wednesday normal show but just wanted to break in share our thoughts here wanted to have you be able to lay it out and and again kudos to you Dave you you've called this one for months now I know it's been a while and I don't know if you were getting some cold feet about what this happened I was getting a little bit of that but happy it's done and the way that you frame did seems to be exactly the way this thing is played out yeah absolutely I I I enjoy this boy I get my my my my blood flows and everything it's some f my favorite part is contracts and cap and tape uh when it comes to my what what I do now uh for the site and all and uh uh great great show we'll be back on Friday if not anything I mean on Wednesday if not anything else to add Alex uh you can follow me on Twitter SLX steers Depot follow Alex alexor kazora follow the show at terrible podcast email the show the terrible podcast at gmail.com if you like what we do and want to donate steers deo.com hit the Donate button U right navigational bar also if you like an adree version of the site steers deo.com hit the adree button follow the directions that way so until Wednesday morning we think uh as always thanks for listening to the terrible podcast with Dave and Alex [Music] oh [Music]