From Aaron Rodgers to George Pickens, there have been plenty of storylines that have enveloped the Steelers’ offseason. One under-the-radar topic has been with a player who makes headlines far less often, in T.J. Watt. Heading into the final year of his contract, many are wondering when Watt’s contract extension may come. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor isn’t expecting anything yet. However, she does believe it will come before the start of the new season.
“I’m not gonna raise any flags until, honestly, we get to training camp,” Pryor said, speaking on 93.7 The Fan on Tuesday. “I know that, in the past, some of these deals have dragged out even through camp… I think the Steelers, the way the organization is being run right now with Omar Khan, he wants to get these things done sooner rather than later. But that doesn’t necessarily mean during minicamp, OTAs, I would kind of expect it to be later in the summer, during training camp.”
Watt and the Steelers are no strangers to waiting until the last second in negotiations. Back in 2021, when Watt signed the deal he’s currently on, he waited right until the beginning of the regular season to put pen to paper. So, while offseason workouts are now underway (which Watt hasn’t been a part of), it’s not a huge deal that Watt hasn’t been signed to an extension yet.
However, just because they can wait doesn’t mean they should. As the Steelers are stalling in their negotiations with Watt, other notable edge rushers around the league are getting massive deals. In their own division, the Browns already signed Myles Garrett to a huge contract. He averages about $40 million per year. Elsewhere in the conference, Maxx Crosby signed an extension in Las Vegas. That puts him just above an average annual value of $35 million.
If the Steelers had signed Watt to an extension before them, they wouldn’t necessarily be getting him for cheap. He’s easily one of the greatest players to ever wear the black and gold. He’s also got plenty of gas still in the tank. However, they now run the risk of having to reset the market to keep him. They’re certainly going to be paying more as a result of waiting.
With that said, there’s a lot that goes into this deal. One factor is Watt’s age. He’s now 30, and any extension will take him into his mid-30s. He also had a statistical down year in 2024. That’s not a huge red flag by any means, but both of those factors make things more complicated.
Still, Pryor isn’t sensing any red flags yet. And we’ve seen Watt and the Steelers wait about as long as possible to hammer out an agreement in the past. However, the Steelers are certainly better off getting this handled soon.
