As NFL owners are in Dallas this week for the league meetings, news has been circulating about the increase in the 2018 NFL Salary Cap. The cap currently sits at $167 million, but early projections show it could increase anywhere to $174.2 to $178.1 million in 2018, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

During the financial portion of the @NFL league meetings, teams were given a 2018 salary cap projection of $174.2-178.1M, source says. It was $167M last year. The final number comes in the spring. — Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 12, 2017

The NFL increases the salary cap every season, and for teams like the Pittsburgh Steelers, this is critical to allow them the space to make the moves necessary to help their team remain competitive year in and year out.

According to OverTheCap, the Steelers’ cap situation in 2018 will be as follows:

Total Cap Liabilities: $180,643,086

Top 51: $179,936,911

Team Cap Space: $1,710,677

These numbers will change with the team making some decisions on current players, and some players, like Ben Roethlisberger, deciding on their own future with the team. However, as the Steelers look to the NFL Draft and free agency to fill holes in the lineup, having more space available will help them bring in better players.

Think back to this off-season when the team was able to bring in Joe Haden, Tyson Alualu and Coty Sensabaugh in free agency, all because they had the space to do so.

While some fans fret over the salary-cap situation, at this point you should have the utmost faith in Kevin Colbert and company as they’ve worked the cap as well as any team in the NFL on a yearly basis. The one thing you never have to worry about with the Pittsburgh Steelers is them not spending right up to the cap on their current roster. While teams like the Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars often barely reach the cap floor, the Steelers are always belly-to-the-ceiling.

The final salary cap number for next season won’t be finalized until the owners meet again for the next round of league meetings after the season wraps up.