Steelers reporters seem skeptical that T.J. Watt will see a $40 million per year contract extension from the team, but Ray Fittipaldo sees a compromise. Rather than match or surpass Myles Garrett’s contract in average annual salary, he suggests using a different metric. The Browns swayed Garrett with $89 million in fully guaranteed money, so better that, instead.
“Extend him. Give him $90 or $92 million full guarantees and structure the deal in such a way that it’s easy to get out of in Year 4 or 5”, Fittipaldo wrote in a recent chat, discussing the ongoing contract situation between T.J. Watt and the Steelers. “Maybe the compromise is giving him more in full guarantees”.
While previously unimaginable, it is perhaps not entirely far-fetched. Before the Steelers’ last contract with Watt, they never gave full guarantees to non-quarterbacks beyond the first year. Because Watt is Watt, though, he stood his ground, and the Steelers caved. In all, they guaranteed the first three years of his contract, and later did two for Minkah Fitzpatrick.
In 2021, the Steelers signed T.J. Watt to a four-year, $112 million extension, roughly. Averaging around $28 million per season, it set the record for the largest contract for an edge rusher. In the four short years since then, the market has ballooned, thanks to the Browns. With Garrett threatening to force his way out, they offered him a $40 million APY deal.
Garrett’s deal includes roughly $89 million guaranteed, as Fittipaldo alluded to. That includes his 2025 and 2026 base salaries, plus a portion from 2027. In theory, the Steelers could sign Watt to a three-year, fully guaranteed $108 million extension. That would put him at $36 million APY, second behind Garrett’s bloated deal. But it would give him more guaranteed and give him the distinction of having a fully guaranteed contract.
When Watt signed his last contract extension with the Steelers, many believed he compromised in total value to gain in guaranteed value. Under that logic, Fittipaldo’s suggestion makes some sense, if they don’t want to go that high.
And let’s face it, Pittsburgh has a better track record for paying off its extensions than most teams do. If the Steelers sign T.J. Watt to a three-year extension, they plan for him to play through 2028. After all, they keep re-signing Cameron Heyward, don’t they?
One of the great comedies is the ludicrousness of expectation versus yield. T.J. Watt recorded 11.5 sacks last season with 19 tackles for loss, 27 hits, and six forced fumbles, and we talk about him having a “down” year. His “down” year is better than most edge rushers ever manage in their best year. Just a year earlier, he recorded a league-leading 19 sacks and Steelers fans were screaming their heads off about how the NFL robbed him of the Defensive Player of the Year award yet again.
But because he has conditioned fans to expect elite play, a merely great season marks his downfall. And now those same Steelers fans who said Watt was robbed now balk at giving him a new contract extension.
