Steelers pay Shazier for 2018 season

Ryan Shazier's 2018 season ended on Wednesday when the Pittsburgh Steelers assigned a physically unable to perform roster designation. On Thursday, Shazier was paid for the season in a voluntary gesture of support by the franchise.

According to ESPN, Shazier will receive $8.26 million of his scheduled $8.718 million salary for 2018 in the form of a signing bonus. Rather than payments twice per month throughout the season, Shazier banks the majority of his season salary as he continues recovering from a devastating spinal contusion that required surgery.

His football career is an uncertainty, but Shazier has said he plans to get back on the field.

See the injury that sidelined Shazier:

In one of the moving moments from the 2018 NFL Draft, Shazier, who has been wheelchair bound but able to stand on his own power recently, walked across the stage with his fiancee to announce Pittsburgh's first-round pick.

The 25-year-old was first ruled out for the 2018 season by general manager Kevin Colbert in February. The roster move Wednesday made it official.

--Field Level Media