Levi Brown trade: Arizona Cardinals get no salary savings in deal

Just when you thought that the Arizona Cardinals were saving some money, both real and against the salary cap, it is not so. With the trade of Levi Brown to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Cardinals will be taking much of his remaining salary.

According to Jason La Canfora, Pittsburgh will be responsible only the veterans minimum salary of $715,000, while the Cards would be responsible for about $3 million this year. According to La Canfora's report, Brown's deal was redone in a way that the Cards paid him $3 million in a bonus as he leaves.

This would jive with the report that Paul Calvisi tweeted saying that they were prepared to release him, in which case would mean they were willing to eat the whole salary to just say goodbye to him.

This also solves the Steelers' situation with the salary cap. If they had taken on his whole contract, they would have had to make other moves to accommodate Brown's salary.

Brown is still under contract through 2016, with base salaries of $6 million, $5 million and $5 million.

The Cardinals will take a salary cap hit in 2014 of $4.2 million for the prorated amount of his original signing bonus.