The Pittsburgh Steelers will see former DT Javon Hargrave once this season, this Sunday when they open up their season against the San Francisco 49ers. Had it not been for playing for the Black and Gold, the Steelers probably would’ve been seeing Hargrave twice a year.
A marquee free agent this offseason, Hargrave’s decision came down to two teams: the San Francisco 49ers and the Cleveland Browns. Hargrave chose the 49ers, inking a four-year, $84 million deal, largely because he didn’t want to be hated by a fan base that once cheered him.
Appearing on the latest episode of Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, Hargrave told the story about his free agency decisions and why he landed on the 49ers.
“I think it was being a Pittsburgh fan back in the day,” a smiling Hargrave said about his decision to turn down the Browns. “I said, I can’t be hated like that.”
As confirmed by reporting earlier in the year, the 49ers and Browns were the finalists for Hargrave, one of the top players on the market. Hargrave said this experience was a stark contrast to his first free agency trip after the 2019 season, when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. That time around, he quietly made his decision to sign. In 2023, his phone was blowing up from texts and calls from players trying to recruit him, including Browns RB Nick Chubb.
Instead, he opted to sign with a stout 49ers defense, giving them one of the best defensive fronts in football. Pittsburgh will try to rival that this season and in Week One, perhaps having the upper hand given Nick Bosa’s uncertainty for this game.
Hargrave also revealed how naïve he was about free agency in his first go-around, not even thinking about how much he could get paid.
“I didn’t even know I was about to get paid leaving Pittsburgh…we’re sitting in a meeting, [T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree] and I looked on Spotrac. They said, ‘Hey, you’re about to make $14 million. I said, ‘what!? Let me see,'” he said.
Spotrac is one of the two well-known contract websites, though most prefer Over The Cap for its accuracy and better attention to detail. Still, that estimate was close and Hargrave signed a three-year, $39 million deal to sign with the Eagles. He put up a career year in 2022, finishing with 11 sacks, and this time around, knew he was going to cash in.
“I knew I was about to get a bag after the Super Bowl,” Hargrave said.
Bag secured. He’s now one of the top-10 highest-paid interior defensive linemen in football, recently passed up by names like the New York Jets’ Quinnen Williams and Tennessee Titans’ Jeffrey Simmons. Not bad for a kid from South Carolina State.
Hargrave will make his 49ers regular-season debut against the team that drafted and developed him, helping him become one of the league’s highest-paid defensive players. He’ll face the Steelers this Sunday at 1 PM/EST. Whichever defensive line plays better, Pittsburgh or San Francisco’s, and whichever defensive lineman steals the show, Heyward or Hargrave, will go a long way toward determining the victor.
Catch the whole episode below.
