{"id":59224,"date":"2025-06-29T03:05:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-29T03:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=59224"},"modified":"2025-06-29T03:05:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T03:05:47","slug":"breaking-steelers-132-million-sweet-deal-with-d-k-metcalf-deserves-brutally-honest-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=59224","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Steelers $132 Million ‘Sweet Deal’ With D.K. Metcalf Deserves Brutally Honest Analysis.."},"content":{"rendered":"
The Pittsburgh Steelers made one of the most monumental trades in franchise history this offseason by acquiring D.K. Metcalf from the Seattle Seahawks for a 2025 second-round pick.<\/div>\n
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The “insider” truth about the\u00a0NFL\u00a0salary cap? Any of us can make the numbers dance almost however we wish.<\/p>\n

A best example?<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0made one of the most monumental trades in franchise history this offseason by acquiring D.K. Metcalf from the\u00a0Seattle Seahawks\u00a0for a 2025 second-round pick.<\/p>\n

Why “monumental”? Because it’s also one of the richest deals ever given, too.<\/p>\n

It is, on paper, billed as a “four-year contract extension worth $132 million.”<\/p>\n

So, do the math: That’s $33 million APY, putting Metcalf in the very top echelon among the league’s non-QBs.<\/p>\n

But\u00a0ESPN’s Dan Graziano\u00a0is here to spin this in another direction, calling it a “pretty sweet deal” for the Steelers.<\/p>\n

Why does he see it as what has come to be called “team-friendly”?<\/p>\n

“This looks like a pretty sweet deal for Metcalf,” he says. “But in the current galaxy of\u00a0top wide receiver contracts, this one isn’t so bad for the team. The Steelers will pay the 27-year-old Metcalf $35 million this year — a $30 million signing bonus and a $5 million salary — and $25 million in 2026.<\/p>\n

“After that, it’s completely up to them. His 2027 salary of $20 million never becomes guaranteed …”<\/p>\n

That’s all true. And it’s also quite common for a “long” contract to feature what we call an “escape hatch” at some point before the seeming official length of the deal.<\/p>\n

So yes, because the deal is escapable even though it appears that the 27-year-old is contractual tied to Pittsburgh until 2030. … in a sense this can actually be “just a two-year commitment.”<\/p>\n

But wait.<\/p>\n

Let’s do some more math.<\/p>\n

Along with the trading for Metcalf, and the “four years,” he also got\u00a0$60 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n

So even in the unlikely event that this thing is a disaster, Pittsburgh is still on the hook for $30 million per year for 2026 and 2027. And if you look at the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers list, you see two things about Metcalf …<\/p>\n