According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to a four-year, $68 million contract extension with outside linebacker Alex Highsmith.
The deal has been confirmed by the team.
“This means everything,” Highsmith said per Teresa Varley of Steelers.com. “I know I am a Pittsburgh Steeler through and through, and just to be a part of this amazing organization for four more years means the world to me, to my wife, to my whole family. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to play ball. I am unbelievably grateful. I am super thankful to be here and can’t wait to get to work. I am excited.
Highsmith is coming off a 14.5 sack season, and the former third-round pick out of Charlotte now cashes in and will be among the NFL’s top-10 highest-paid pass rushers. Pittsburgh and Highsmith worked to get the deal done before camp, and Highsmith and T.J. Watt will continue to wreak havoc off the edge for the Steelers for years to come.
With training camp set to kick off Wednesday, the Steelers have no more immediate contract needs and this prevents a holdout or hold-in from Highsmith. A deal was always going to get done, it was just a matter of when and for how much. The deal includes $27.7 million in guarantees and $38 million over the first two new years of the contract, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
At roughly $17 million in average annual value, the Highsmith contract comes in right along where Dave Bryan projected it to be. It’s not a ground-breaking extension, but it pays Highsmith commensurate to his value as one of the best outside linebackers in the NFL. It is a fair price for the Steelers to pay to ensure they keep one of their star defenders in Black and Gold.
Highsmith emerged in 2022 and played a key role with Watt sidelined with a torn pectoral. His sack total jumped from six in his second year in the league to 14.5 last season, leading the team. Highsmith still has one year left on the original contract he signed with the team after being drafted in 2020, so the extension will kick in during the 2024 season. That makes the total value of his deal $70.743 million, as he was due $2.743 million in a PPE raise for the 2023 season.
Highsmith also took a page out of Watt’s playbook, working on forcing fumbles as he was credited with a league-leading five last season. Keeping him in Pittsburgh was a major priority for the Steelers, and easily the biggest extension they had to work out this year. Pittsburgh has done a good job of drafting and developing, with Watt, Highsmith and Cameron Heyward all earning second contracts with the team. Minkah Fitzpatrick was extended last offseason, so the Steelers are keeping their defensive core intact for the next few seasons.
With one of the best defenses in the league, the Steelers will continue to ride that unit as they look for their seventh Lombardi Trophy.
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