"Ken Bates has said he budgeted for Leeds finishing mid-table so the implications of losing the play-off to Watford are not so serious financially," said Gerrard in the Yorkshire Post.
"The issues will now be more on the pitch than on the balance sheet. Those players and payments still hanging over from the Peter Ridsdale era will no longer be such a burden on Leeds."
Gary Kelly and Eirik Bakke, the only survivors from the Champions League era, have only 12 months left on lucrative contracts worth an estimated £1.25m each, but payments to departed stars such as Robbie Fowler, Robbie Keane, Michael Duberry and Danny Mills will finish on June 30.