No, we are not talking about a contract extension for Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith. Nevertheless, Highsmith did get himself a nice big raise this week thanks to the NFL’s Proven Performance escalator.
The escalator helps build in raises for players deemed underpaid based on the number of snaps played as well as their performance. For Highsmith, this means because he played 68 percent of total snaps over his first three seasons (the threshold for a second-round pick is 60 percent), his 2023 salary gets a big bump.
Highsmith goes from making $1,089,000 million in 2023 to $2.672 million. This number is the average right of first refusal tender for a restricted free agent. This is the first of what Highsmith hopes will be two big raises this offseason as he awaits a massive contract extension.
Two other Steelers also qualified for the Level One escalator with guard Kevin Dotson and punter Braden Mann both more than doubling their 2023 salaries after previous performances.
