NFL · 1 hour ago

Money Well Spent? Super Bowl Favorites vs. Steelers Top 10 Cap Hits for 2026

Bo Marchionte

Host · Writer

10. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
THE TIGHT ENDS

Colby Parkinson, TE, Rams: $9,083,334

The tenth name tells us something about roster depth. When your No. 10 cap charge is a starting-caliber tight end rather than a financial mistake you're desperately trying to escape, the construction is working.

Pat Freiermuth, TE, Steelers: $6,943,333

Same position, different price. Freiermuth has survived offensive changes and remains Pittsburgh's most established receiving threat at tight end. McCarthy now gets the opportunity to determine just how much more is there.

FINAL TOP-10 CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $183,211,179
- Steelers: $168,767,666
TOTAL CAP HIT IN 2026
- Rams: $313,351,515 / 8^th ranked in NFL
- Steelers: $305,020,791 / 19^thranked in NFL
Spotrac Top 10 Cap Hits: Rams vs. Steelers
Rams vs. Steelers: Follow the Money from No. 1 to No. 10

There is a team out west that appears to be a lock to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Valetine’s Day in SoFI Stadium in Inglewood, California in 2027.

The Rams and Steelers enter 2026 living in two very different neighborhoods of expectation.

Los Angeles is among the heavyweights, built and priced by oddsmakers as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Pittsburgh has plenty of expensive names of its own but enters the season much farther down the championship board.

So where is the money going?

We're taking the 10 largest 2026 cap hits on each roster and matching them straight down the financial ladder: Rams No. 1 versus Steelers No. 1, No. 2 against No. 2, all the way through No. 10.

And there's an important distinction here.

Cap hit is not the same thing as salary.

A player's salary tells you what he's being paid under his contract. His cap hit tells you how much of that contract is being charged against his team's salary cap this season. Signing bonuses, restructures, option bonuses and other accounting mechanisms can push money into different years.

Myles Garrett is a beautiful example.

Garrett's contract may carry annual compensation around $41 million, but his 2026 cap hit is only $8.44 million. A structured deal where the financial weight lands elsewhere on the cap calendar.

That's why this exercise gets interesting.

Matthew Stafford's $48.27 million cap hit doesn't necessarily mean he's receiving $48.27 million in cash this season. It means nearly $50 million worth of Stafford is hitting the Rams' 2026 books.

Same goes for T.J. Watt's $42 million in Pittsburgh.

This isn't simply about who makes more money.

It's about where two NFL teams decided to place the financial weight of their rosters and whether that money is buying a Super Bowl contender.

Los Angeles Rams
- Regular-season win total: 11.5
- Over 11.5: -115
- Under 11.5: -105
- Super Bowl LXI: +500
- Make playoffs: -460
- Win NFC: +275
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Regular-season win total: 8.5
- Over 8.5: +110
- Under 8.5: -130
- Super Bowl LXI: +5000
- Make playoffs: +140
- Win AFC: +2400
1. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
THE $40 MILLION CLUB

Matthew Stafford, QB, Rams: $48,266,668

Los Angeles is paying its biggest bill at the game's most important position. Stafford remains the trigger man for Sean McVay, and at 38, the Rams aren't paying for tomorrow. They're paying to win the damn thing now.

T.J. Watt, OLB, Steelers: $42,000,000

Pittsburgh's largest investment is designed to destroy quarterbacks rather than employ one. Watt remains the centerpiece of the Steelers defense and the player opponents account for before anything else happens.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $48,266,668
- Steelers: $42,000,000
2. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
TWO VERY DIFFERENT BETS ON AGE

Davante Adams, WR, Rams: $28,000,000

At 34, Adams isn't being paid to grow with the Rams. He's being paid to finish the job. His route-running, feel and ability to win without relying strictly on speed make him an expensive veteran who still fits a championship window.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Steelers: $22,500,000

This might be the most fascinating $22.5 million on either roster. Rodgers turns 43 this season, reunited with Mike McCarthy for what amounts to one last swing. Pittsburgh isn't purchasing longevity. It's purchasing possibility.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $76,266,668
- Steelers: $64,500,000
3. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
PROTECT HIM OR SACK HIM

Alaric Jackson, LT, Rams: $25,375,000

The Rams' third-largest cap charge belongs to Stafford's blind-side insurance policy. Jackson isn't the glamorous name on this roster, but protecting a 38-year-old quarterback makes left tackle anything but a luxury.

Alex Highsmith, OLB, Steelers: $20,102,000

Playing opposite Watt can obscure just how valuable Highsmith has become. Pittsburgh has more than $62 million in 2026 cap charges tied to its two premier edge rushers. The philosophy isn't difficult to find.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $101,641,668
- Steelers: $84,602,000
4. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
THE TRENCHES VS. THE CHESS PIECE

Kevin Dotson, G, Rams: $17,416,668

There is some beautiful irony here: the former Steeler became valuable enough in Los Angeles to own its fourth-largest cap hit. Dotson represents the Rams putting premium money into keeping the middle clean for Stafford.

Jalen Ramsey, CB, Steelers: $17,229,000

Ramsey gives Pittsburgh something difficult to price: options. Cornerback ability, veteran intelligence and enough versatility to let Patrick Graham move pieces around him. At nearly identical money to Dotson, Pittsburgh bought flexibility.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $119,058,336
- Steelers: $101,831,000
5. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
DEFENSIVE MIDDLE CLASS

Quentin Lake, S, Rams: $11,691,176

This is where Los Angeles' spending gets interesting. Lake isn't carrying superstar money, but his versatility and intelligence make him connective tissue for a defense loaded with recognizable names.

Patrick Queen, LB, Steelers: $17,193,334

Queen is paid substantially more at the same salary slot. Pittsburgh wants speed in the middle and pays accordingly. He has become a central piece of a defense expected to carry significant weight again.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $130,749,512
- Steelers: $119,024,334
6. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
TOUCHES VS. TENURE

Kyren Williams, RB, Rams: $11,645,000

Running backs supposedly aren't supposed to get paid anymore. Williams is the rebuttal. Los Angeles values his production, reliability and fit enough that its sixth-largest cap hit belongs to the man taking the handoffs.

Cameron Heyward, DL, Steelers: $13,675,000

At 37, Heyward is still occupying expensive real estate because Pittsburgh believes he can still occupy offensive linemen. He's the oldest pillar of a defense increasingly surrounded by younger bodies.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $142,394,512
- Steelers: $132,699,334
7. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
THE UNGLAMOROUS MILLIONS

Poona Ford, DL, Rams: $11,433,333

Nobody builds a billboard around an interior run defender, but championship rosters need people who make other people's jobs easier. Ford's value lives in ugly snaps, congested gaps and making offenses earn clean rushing lanes.

D.K. Metcalf, WR, Steelers: $13,225,000

Metcalf is the opposite: impossible to miss. Size, speed and vertical stress wrapped into one receiver. His cap number lands seventh on your Spotrac snapshot, but his importance to Pittsburgh's passing game is considerably higher.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $153,827,845
- Steelers: $145,924,334
8. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
CORNERBACK VS. RECEIVER

Trent McDuffie, CB, Rams: $10,800,000

Los Angeles didn't add McDuffie to merely improve its secondary. It added a proven premium-position defender to an already loaded championship roster. This is the kind of acquisition contenders make when good isn't enough.

Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Steelers: $8,866,666

Pittman changes the geometry of Pittsburgh's receiver room. Metcalf brings the explosion; Pittman provides size, possession ability and another established target. Defenses can't build the entire coverage plan around No. 14 anymore.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $164,627,845
- Steelers: $154,791,000
9. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
MONEY IN THE MIDDLE

Coleman Shelton, C, Rams: $9,500,000

Another offensive lineman inside Los Angeles' top 10. That's worth noticing. Stafford, Jackson, Dotson and Shelton show how much of the Rams' premium spending is directly connected to keeping their quarterback functional.

Jaylen Warren, RB, Steelers: $7,033,333

Undrafted became indispensable. Warren's contract is the financial evidence of a career built the hard way. Pittsburgh isn't paying for draft pedigree anymore. It's paying for what Warren became after nobody drafted him.

RUNNING CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $174,127,845
- Steelers: $161,824,333
10. Spotrac Cap Hits Rams and Steelers
THE TIGHT ENDS

Colby Parkinson, TE, Rams: $9,083,334

The tenth name tells us something about roster depth. When your No. 10 cap charge is a starting-caliber tight end rather than a financial mistake you're desperately trying to escape, the construction is working.

Pat Freiermuth, TE, Steelers: $6,943,333

Same position, different price. Freiermuth has survived offensive changes and remains Pittsburgh's most established receiving threat at tight end. McCarthy now gets the opportunity to determine just how much more is there.

FINAL TOP-10 CAP TOTAL
- Rams: $183,211,179
- Steelers: $168,767,666
TOTAL CAP HIT IN 2026
- Rams: $313,351,515 / 8^th ranked in NFL
- Steelers: $305,020,791 / 19^thranked in NFL
Spotrac Top 10 Cap Hits: Rams vs. Steelers
Rams vs. Steelers: Follow the Money from No. 1 to No. 10

There is a team out west that appears to be a lock to hoist the Lombardi Trophy on Valetine’s Day in SoFI Stadium in Inglewood, California in 2027.

The Rams and Steelers enter 2026 living in two very different neighborhoods of expectation.

Los Angeles is among the heavyweights, built and priced by oddsmakers as a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Pittsburgh has plenty of expensive names of its own but enters the season much farther down the championship board.

So where is the money going?

We're taking the 10 largest 2026 cap hits on each roster and matching them straight down the financial ladder: Rams No. 1 versus Steelers No. 1, No. 2 against No. 2, all the way through No. 10.

And there's an important distinction here.

Cap hit is not the same thing as salary.

A player's salary tells you what he's being paid under his contract. His cap hit tells you how much of that contract is being charged against his team's salary cap this season. Signing bonuses, restructures, option bonuses and other accounting mechanisms can push money into different years.

Myles Garrett is a beautiful example.

Garrett's contract may carry annual compensation around $41 million, but his 2026 cap hit is only $8.44 million. A structured deal where the financial weight lands elsewhere on the cap calendar.

That's why this exercise gets interesting.

Matthew Stafford's $48.27 million cap hit doesn't necessarily mean he's receiving $48.27 million in cash this season. It means nearly $50 million worth of Stafford is hitting the Rams' 2026 books.

Same goes for T.J. Watt's $42 million in Pittsburgh.

This isn't simply about who makes more money.

It's about where two NFL teams decided to place the financial weight of their rosters and whether that money is buying a Super Bowl contender.

Los Angeles Rams
- Regular-season win total: 11.5
- Over 11.5: -115
- Under 11.5: -105
- Super Bowl LXI: +500
- Make playoffs: -460
- Win NFC: +275
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Regular-season win total: 8.5
- Over 8.5: +110
- Under 8.5: -130
- Super Bowl LXI: +5000
- Make playoffs: +140
- Win AFC: +2400