In many NFL cities, it's Christmas Day, the start of free agency and with it the wave of big-money signings across the league. In Pittsburgh, it's just another Friday in the offseason.

The Steelers have so little room under the salary cap, and have such a conservative philosophy to go with it, that free agency has come to mean a door that only opens outward as their own players flee the premises.

Guard Alan Faneca will lead the pack and might already have a deal in place this morning. The New York Jets have a strong interest, it has been reported by several outlets. Sources have said Faneca will receive a "whopping" deal today.

Of course, teams were not allowed to speak with prospective free agents or their representatives before midnight last night, but that rule is ignored more often than offensive holding. Most of the coveted unrestricted free agents have deals in place long before they can become official today. Or did anyone think those mega-million contracts that will be signed today were all negotiated this morning from scratch?

The Steelers issued one-year contract tenders to four of their five restricted free agents yesterday, as required if they wanted to maintain their rights to match any contract they might sign with another team.

The four are offensive tackle Trai Essex, guard Chris Kemoeatu, wide receiver Nate Washington and long-snapper Greg Warren. They did not make one to linebacker Andre Frazier, thus making him an unrestricted free agent.

The tenders issued to Washington and Kemoeatu were for $1,417,000, which means the club would receive a second-round draft choice for each if they sign elsewhere and they do not match. Essex and Warren received tenders of $927,000 each; Essex would bring a third-round pick in return if they did not match, while Warren would bring nothing if they did not match.

The Steelers did make one significant contract offer before free agency began; it went to backup offensive tackle Max Starks. They tendered him the required one-year deal of $6,895,000 when they made him their transition player last week.

Of course, Starks will never see that money from the Steelers. He has not yet signed the tender, but the Steelers cannot afford to pay him that much money for 2008. Not only would it collapse their salary cap plans, it would make him the highest-paid player on the team.

Either coach Mike Tomlin and his new staff made a monumental mistake when they bumped Starks from his starting job at right tackle after two years last season in favor of Willie Colon, or the Steelers had other things in mind when they made him their transition player.

It does buy them an extra seven days if Starks signs elsewhere, because they can elect to match any contract he signs in free agency and keep him (if they do not, he leaves without compensation). Had they not made him their transition player, Starks could have signed elsewhere for a relative pittance and the Steelers would have had little recourse.

Now, the Steelers hope Starks does sign elsewhere for a pittance because it would be easy for them to match. If he signs for a lot, they can let him go. But what if he wants to come in and sign the one-year deal for nearly $7 million? It's likely they will pull the offer before he can find a pen.

Sources say they have not even tried to negotiate a long-term deal with Starks. The reasoning is another old Steelers philosophy: They do not want to give him a starting point, so he can shop their deal around to other teams. There are two ways that Starks will remain with the Steelers next season -- if he receives little interest from other teams, or if he signs a contract with another team the Steelers believe is reasonable to match.

Left tackle Marvel Smith has the highest 2008 salary of the Steelers' offensive linemen at $4.4 million. Guard Kendall Simmons is next at $3.4 million and center Sean Mahan has a $2,175,000 salary. Willie Colon, promoted to starting right tackle last season over Starks, will make $445,000 in 2008.