Pittsburgh Steelers sign Makari Paige

Makari Paige earns a C+ Contract Value Index (CVI) on this offseason signing—a deal that reflects the realistic floor for depth acquisitions in professional football. At $885K on a one-year prove-it contract, the Steelers are taking a calculated flier on a reserve-level player with minimal financial commitment, which is exactly how you should price a low-risk roster addition during the offseason window. The CVI grade sits squarely in the neutral zone because there's no upside leverage here; the Steelers aren't overpaying, but they're also not capturing any meaningful discount that would suggest they identified a market inefficiency. With 100 days until the regular season, this is the kind of move that doesn't move the needle on cap flexibility or competitive window—it's filler-to-depth territory, useful only if injuries or training camp performance dictate a role in the fall. The one-year structure is the only thing preventing this from grading lower; if Paige proves capable of contributing, the team retains the option to bring him back at similar rates, but there's no guarantee either party will be interested once the season concludes.