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Watt is expected to become the highest-paid defender in football once again.
As the
Steelers-T.J. Watt contract saga continues, NFL insiders remain confident that Pittsburgh will find a way to extend the seven-time Pro-Bowler.
However, the sticking point seems to be what most expected: guarantees and length, not the actual cash. The former Defensive Player of the Year is widely expected to become the highest-paid defender in the league once again.
“The Steelers stand willing to pay (Watt),” said NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero on
The Rich Eisen Show July 3. “I would tell you, based upon my read of the situation ... I believe that they will find a way — if not before training camp, then before the season — to get that done.
“It is gonna be north of Myles Garrett. It is gonna be upwards of $40 million per year, which then, in turn, is going to have an impact on some of these other pass-rushers that are looking for new deals as well.
“The question becomes ... what’s the structure of that, what are the guarantees in that contract?”
Garrett, at age 30, is currently the highest-paid edge rusher (and defender in general) in the NFL following his four-year, $160 million deal with the
Cleveland Browns this offseason. The
Texans’ Danielle Hunter (31 years old) and the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby (28) are next on the list, making $35.6 million and $35.5 million per year on their current contracts, respectively.
Watt’s current deal, which made him the highest-paid defender in the NFL in 2021, averages $28 million per season. He’s currently on the last year of that extension.
Previous reports indicated the Steelers already have a deal on the table for Watt, even if the two sides remain apart.
Pelissero noted that Watt has a lot of leverage — it doesn’t make sense for the Steelers to trade the pass-rusher given the team’s recent investments in veteran stars. And even if the team did want to shop Watt on the trade market, they’d likely have a hard time finding appropriate compensation given Watt’s age. He’ll turn 31 in October.
“Do I anticipate that T.J. Watt gets traded? No,” said Pelissero, adding, “Never say never.
“I wouldn’t rule anything out. There’s a lot of different ways this can go, certainly. You know that T.J. Watt is frustrated at this point that things are not worked out here. What do I see being the most likely way that this sorts itself out? Sometime between now and (the Steelers opener), they end up getting a deal done with T.J. Watt.
“It is going to be big money. ... Pending any other deals that get done between now and then, I believe we’re going to see a reset in the edge market again.”
The Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks last season, as well as the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons, are also hoping for new contracts before the 2025 season.
Pelissero noted that the Steelers have some extra wiggle room given their late training camp start July 23. He also added that Watt can afford to miss some training camp work as Mike Tomlin typically doesn’t work his star veterans that hard over the offseason in the first place: “T.J. Watt doesn’t do a whole lot at training camp, anyway.”
For reference, Watt didn’t agree to his 2021 contract with the Steelers until Sept. 9. He’d go on to tie the single-season sack record and win Defensive Player of the Year that season.
On July 5, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported similar information to Pelissero, noting “guaranteed money” and “term length” are seen around the league as issues holding up the deal.
Fowler added there’s “not a lot of traction” regarding a trade, and Watt will “probably be the highest-paid edge rusher in the league when this is all said and done.” Like Pelissero, Fowler mentioned the Steelers’ tendency to get deals done around training camp or before Week 1 of the regular season.
Said Fowler: “Somebody with the team said, ‘Look, these are complicated deals to do, but we are working on it; we want T.J. Watt here.’”
