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Classy move: Steelers convert Ryan Shazier’s 2018 salary into guaranteed money
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Ryan Shazier has been in the news quite a bit over the last week.
First, he made a surprise appearance at the 2018 NFL Draft to announce one of the Steelers selections. Following that amazing scene, Pittsburgh announced this week that the former Buckeye standout had been placed on the reserve/PUP list. That move officially ends any chance that Shazier would play for the club in 2018.
The linebacker injured his spine last season against the Bengals. The injury forced him to undergo spinal stabilization in December. It was a frightening scene at the time but the draft showed Shazier is on his way to making an excellent recovery, even if he never sees the field again.
On Thursday, Pittsburgh announced all of Shazier’s 2018 salary has been turned into a signing bonus. That means the linebacker will collect the money even though he won’t be playing next season.
The Steelers have converted $8.26M of LB Ryan Shazier’s 2018 base salary into a signing bonus, per source. Shazier, placed on PUP Wednesday, earns that money now. While there are no cap implications, it’s a great gesture by a first rate organization.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) May 3, 2018
According to Andrew Brandt, former NFL agent and writer for the MMQB, the move won’t affect the Steelers’ cap this season — making the move a win all the way around in this instance.
Reason for no Cap implications: last year of contract. Basically an advance. https://t.co/szDElJEahO
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) May 3, 2018