Steelers' GM Kevin Colbert faces 'huge challenge' in extending contracts, managing cap in 2021

Kevin Colbert has a running request for the Pittsburgh Steelers marketing department.

“Make us some money, so I can go spend it.”

That lighthearted plea will take on a serious tone this season. At stake for the Steelers general manager is the future composition of the franchise’s roster.

The coronavirus pandemic has impacted revenue among all sports. Games played without fans — or at reduced capacity — this season will result in lost ticket revenue, concessions and merchandising sales.

And with a loss in revenue comes a reduction in the salary cap. Once pegged to increase by $10 million to $20 million next year, the $198.2 million cap could go as low as $175 million in 2021.

The uncertainty makes it difficult for teams to project future payrolls and hinders their ability to sign players to contract extensions this summer. That is particularly true for the Steelers, who already have contracts totaling nearly $190 million on the books for the 2021 season.

That means defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, the team’s highest-profile free agent in 2021, might not receive an extension that a few months ago seemed like a sure thing. And wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster might not be tendered a second contract before he enters the final year of his four-year deal.

Other players entering the final years of their contracts include running back James Conner; offensive linemen Matt Feiler, Zach Banner and Alejandro Villanueva; outside linebacker Bud Dupree; defensive end Tyson Alualu; and cornerbacks Mike Hilton and Cam Sutton.

Outside linebacker T.J. Watt, a free agent after the 2021 season, is under consideration for a massive contract that might have to wait until next year when his price tag could skyrocket.

“This year, obviously, is going to be a huge challenge for everybody,” Colbert said Wednesday on a video conference call. “How do we best make ourselves profitable? Nobody knows. We don’t know what rules we’ll be working under as the fall unfolds. It’s out of my realm. We have to understand there are issues, and we have to react accordingly.”

Because the Steelers have an organization policy that cuts off contract negotiations once the regular season begins, they face a Sept. 14 deadline to get any deals done. But if fans are permitted to attend games, and revenues increase over the fall and winter, more revenue could be generated toward the 2021 salary cap.

Colbert was asked if the Steelers might make an exception this fall and allow negotiations to continue beyond the start of the season.

“We haven’t talked about amending our policy,” he said. “It’s been in place a lot of years. I don’t anticipate changing that. We’ll continue to look at situations. If one makes sense, we’ll do it. But I don’t anticipate us changing that under the current conditions.”

The NFL and its players association negotiated a salary cap floor of $175 million next season, which provides a small measure of cost certainty for Colbert. If that figure doesn’t rise, Colbert might have some difficult decisions to make in the offseason in trying to keep the team’s core intact.

“My mindset is I have to operate from that point up,” he said. “There are a lot of teams affected by it. We’re focused on 2020. Let’s get the best results we can. When we do that, we’re always thinking about 2021-22-23. We’re never going to sell this thing out completely. But when we think we have a nice team, we’re going to make the best effort we can now, and we’ll keep moving forward and try to be as competitive as we can in every season.”