The Pittsburgh Steelers recently made a big trade with the Miami Dolphins and that deal resulted in FS Minkah Fitzpatrick being exchanged for CB Jalen Ramsey and TE Jonnu Smith, in addition to the swapping of later round 2027 draft picks. With the full details of the Ramsey contract that the Steelers acquired now already covered, I can now show the breakdown of Smith’s new contract with the Steelers, courtesy of the NFLPA salary cap page.
Prior to being traded to the Steelers, Smith had one year remaining on his contract. He was scheduled to earn $3.99 million in 2025 with $500,000 of that being due to him in the form of per game roster bonuses. After trading for Smith, the Steelers signed Smith to a one-year extension that included $12.01 million being added to the $3.99 million in 2025 that was already in his contract.
The Steelers then took $2.735 million of the $3.99 million that Smith was previously scheduled to earn in 2025, in addition to $5.01 million of the $12.01 million that was added to the deal as part of the extension, and turned the total of $7.745 million into a signing bonus for the tight end. It became prorated out over 2025 and 2026. That bonus resulted in Smith’s 2025 base salary dropping down to $1.255 million, the NFL minimum for his credited seasons.
The remaining $7 million of the new $12.01 million added to Smith’s contract as part of his extension is now scheduled to be the tight end’s base salary in 2026. Smith’s new 2025 and 2026 salary cap charges as a result of his one-year extension are now scheduled to be $5,127,500 and $10,872,500, respectively.
Smith, who was originally scheduled to earn just $3.99 million in cash in 2025 from the Dolphins, will now earn $9 million this season with the Steelers as a result of his one-year contract extension. As previously mentioned, Smith is set to earn $7 million in cash in 2026. Assuming he plays out his 2026 contract year, Smith will earn $16 million from the Steelers over the two years.
Prior to be trading to the Steelers, Smith had an APY (new money average) of just $4.2 million. After signing his one-year extension with the Steelers, his new APY is $12.1 million, which ties him with fellow Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth as the eighth highest paid tight ends in the NFL as of the time of this post.
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