Are incentives the key to getting a contract extension done with Cameron Heyward?
If fans controlled the Pittsburgh Steelers, they would change the locks on the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Cameron Heyward. Reading the comments, the message is abundantly clear: shut up and play, or better yet, just go home.
Heyward is 35 years old and coming off a significant groin injury that impacted his quality of play. In the minds of many, he is no longer capable of playing at or near the level he once did all the way back in…17 months ago. And many seem to argue that he already wasn’t worth the $16 million he was getting even if healthy.
But fans don’t control the Steelers organization and have no input on negotiations with Cameron Heyward. Surely the front office has a slightly higher opinion, but how pressed are they to do an extension? Perhaps not very. They don’t have a ton of incentive as long as they believe his first choice is to re-sign with the Steelers.
But there is something to rewarding players and keeping them happy. It sets a good example for the locker room, that quality service is valued in the building. So perhaps a contract that includes incentives is a way to get an extension done while minimizing future risk.
Now, incentives are not common in Steelers contracts. The Steelers offered Mason Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky incentives in their deals, but those were exceptions. But this is a new front office, and Heyward himself is an exception. Yes, it’s still Omar Khan, but it’s not Kevin Colbert, and Cole Marcoux does a lot of the contract stuff now.
This is an opportune time to do an incentive-laden contract for Heyward because he’s coming off a down, shortened season. Your benchmarks are easy to turn into Not Likely To Be Earned Incentives, which you don’t have to account for in your current-year cap. You only pay them the following year if earned.
So, say, give him a playing-time incentive of X games or snaps, a Pro Bowl incentive, sack incentive, etc. That way, you can sign him to an extension, and if he earns more money for himself, then he’s well and truly earned it, and you can’t feel too bad about paying for it.
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wildcard Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
