They've always been a family and community oriented team, very loyal to their players and that's why the players are always loyal to them. Many players in the past have restructured contracts for lower pay, in order to remain on the team and allow them to use the money to retain other players.

Ryan Shazier is seriously injured. They could have released him by now. They could also allow him to just receive his regular pay, which he would receive as paychecks of course.

But they converted it into a bonus for him, this way he gets the entire $8+ million dollars in advance now, and I'm sure he can use it!

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Steelers make classy gesture to Ryan Shazier by converting salary to $8.26 million bonus

Ryan Shazier provided one of the most memorable moments when he walked on stage at the NFL draft and announced the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first-round draft pick.

The injured linebacker has even more reason to smile this week. The Steelers decided to give Shazier, who suffered a serious neck injury making a tackle last season against the Cincinnati Bengals, a significant financial advance.

Shazier getting more than $8 million up front

The Steelers converted Shazier’s base salary to a signing bonus according to ESPN’s Field Yates, meaning he gets the money right now. There is no salary-cap benefit to the Steelers, and the salary was guaranteed already. It’s just a kind gesture from the Steelers for their player who suffered a horrendous injury.

The converted bonus is worth $8.26 million according to Yates. It’s a move that makes the Steelers look good too, furthering their reputation as a top organization in the NFL.

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