Once complete, the Steelers players will have a little more than a month until they are scheduled to report for training camp in preparation for the 2021 season.
Perhaps the phrase “hold out” is not the most accurate in this case as it’s not as though Green hasn’t been participating in OTAs.
Actually, it was the Steelers fourth through seventh round picks who all signed quickly with the Steelers followed by their first round pick in Harris and second round pick Pat Freiermuth.
First, it could simply be outside factors such as his agent hasn’t been able to work out those few specifics with the Steelers due to other commitments.
Another outside possibility is Green and his agent are waiting until the conclusion of minicamp to see if Green could be more in line to be the starter this season.
The type of salary escalators and incentives that used to be responsible for salaries skyrocketing at the top of draft are prohibited under the rookie wage scale.
An extremely important aspect of these deals is the first year salary cap number because it helps determine the overall value of a contract.
To illustrate this concept, 2020 fourth-overall pick Andrew Thomas’ cap numbers were limited to a $1,470,254 increase in each year of his deal because his first year cap number was $5,881,016.
Based on the math, the salary cap hit for Kendrick Green is known for the next four years.
When it comes to Kendrick Green, who was selected with the 87th pick in the draft, there are only two players from pick 75 through 105 of the third round who have signed their contracts and have their financials available according to overthecap.com.
Although there could be a number of factors determining why Kendrick Green has not signed, the fact hardly any of the players drafted in a similar spot to green should help Steelers fans feel much better about the situation.