If you want to know why the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has underperformed, look no further than their spending habits. The Steelers once again head into an offseason with the most ridiculous spending disparity between offense and defense of any team in the NFL.
The Steelers currently have $53 million in salary cap allocated for the offensive side of the football. Pittsburgh’s highest-paid offensive player is tight end Pat Freiermuth. His projected cap hit for 2025 is $12.885 million.
Meanwhile, on defense, it’s a very different story. The Steelers have just north of $166 million wrapped up on the defensive side of the football. That Freiermuth cap hit? It’s peanuts compared to defense. In fact, 12 defensive players will have a bigger hit in 2025. Let that one sink it.
We aren’t sure which is more concerning. How little the Steelers spend on offense or how poorly the defense plays despite spending so much more.
