Mike Wallace, Steelers WR, is most underpaid in NFL

"Around the League" is taking a look at each team's salary-cap situation heading into training camp. Next up: The Pittsburgh Steelers .

Adjusted cap number : $121.195 million

Cap room remaining : $3.734 million

Best bargain : If Mike Wallace plays the 2012 season under the "first-round" restricted free agent tender, he could be looking at $2.742 million in non-guaranteed base salary. Wallace ranked in the top 25 in terms of receptions last season and was tied for 11th in both receiving yards (1,193) and touchdowns (eight). With Todd Haley replacing Bruce Arians as offensive coordinator, there is no reason to think that the Steelers are going to throw the ball less. Yet Wallace's RFA tender currently ranks 46th among NFL wideouts in terms of cash compensation in 2012.

Potential camp casualty : The great roster purge of 2012 has already happened in Pittsburgh. The Steelers parted ways with Bryant McFadden , Arnaz Battle , James Farrior , Chris Kemoeatu , Aaron Smith and Hines Ward . If the young nose tackles or inside linebackers show progress in camp, veterans in the final years of their contracts, such as Casey Hampton ($2.8 million base salary) and Larry Foote ($3 million in base salary), could be released to free up some cap space for this season or next.

Contract issue looming in 2013 : It's all about Wallace, the only restricted free agent this offseason who has not yet signed his one-year tender. He could be headed for the franchise tag (projected value of $9.692 million if the cap remains flat, as is expected) in 2013. Fellow receiver Antonio Brown, who caught 69 passes for 1,108 yards and went to the Pro Bowl as a return specialist, will be a restricted free agent next offseason, as well.

Battle of 'Sesame Street': Political fight over PBS has long history

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scuffle over Big Bird is only the latest in a long line of political fights over PBS. 

(Matt Sayles / Associated Press / August 30, 2009)

When Mitt Romney vowed to cut government funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting during Wednesday night’s presidential debate, PBS chief Paula Kerger says she “just about fell off the sofa” out of shock.

Romney’s remarks – and in particular his decision to single out the beloved Big Bird -- sparked an immediate uproar on social media. And on Thursday, PBS issued an unusually strongly worded statement in response to the attack. “Governor Romney does not understand the value the American people place on public broadcasting and the outstanding return on investment the system delivers to our nation,” it read.

But Kerger and Big Bird’s millions of fans shouldn’t have been that surprised by Romney’s pledge: The candidate is merely the latest in a long line of politicians and pundits who’ve turned the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes money to both PBS and NPR, into a political punching bag. 

Since at least the mid-1990s, government sudsidization of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been a perennial front in the culture wars, and PBS' programming, from "Teletubbies" to "NewsHour," has been criticized for its supposed liberal bias.