The Cincinnati Bengals have historically been one of the cheapest franchises in the league when it comes to giving out big contracts. Still, the team recently inked WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on new contracts, with Chase’s making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. The Bengals have changed their negotiating strategy, going away from precedents like not guaranteeing money beyond the first year of a deal, something the Steelers haven’t done, and ESPN’s Brooke Pryor said the Bengals have shown a willingness to change that the Steelers have not.
“It seems to go against the way that the Bengals have typically done business, where they don’t guarantee second-year money, they typically don’t do these big contracts, things like that. And the fact they were able to do two and are still working on Trey Hendrickson tells me that they’ve kind of accepted that if we want to be able to compete and keep our team together and keep our franchise quarterback happy, we’re gonna have to change the way we do some things. And it shows a willingness to be flexible that the Steelers have not so far,” Pryor said on The Pomp and Joe Show on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday.
The Steelers did break some precedent by giving DK Metcalf a brand-new extension that gave him the highest average per year on the team, something they haven’t done for players outside the organization. But generally, the Steelers have been set in their ways. They won’t negotiate contracts during the season, and like the Bengals, they don’t guarantee money beyond the first year. It’s a fair argument that some of Pittsburgh’s precedent is holding them back, especially with an ever-rising salary cap and contract demands.
It will be interesting to see if the team might be willing to break precedent with T.J. Watt’s likely upcoming extension and guarantee money before the first season. The Steelers have already gotten a late start on the Watt extension, with Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett re-setting the EDGE market with extensions earlier in the offseason, so the price to retain Watt will be higher.
Pittsburgh is still consistently in the playoffs, so the front office may not see a need to change. But they’re not a consistent Super Bowl contender, and the teams have all adapted and changed how they do business to keep up with current trends around the league. The Steelers haven’t, and it will be interesting to see if they start to adapt more after already making some small changes in how they do business, as we saw with the Metcalf extension.
