If you’re holding your breath waiting for T.J. Watt to sign an extension with the Steelers, you might want to exhale. You could be waiting for a while for the two sides to work that deal out, which is almost an inevitability. There may be some out there who think they might trade him, but that’s not happening.
Still, there appears to be no rush to bring this latest chapter to a conclusion. Watt posted a picture on social media that briefly made everyone crazy worrying about an extension, but it appears the world remains the same. As Bob Labriola writing for the team’s website cautioned, it’s going to be a while.
“Patience”, Labriola advised to one Steelers fan concerned about the lack of updates on T.J. Watt’s extension. “Signing a superstar such as T.J. Watt to a contract extension is not a simple matter, and so it’s going to take time. Those kinds of things usually take place during the summer, and we’re not even to Memorial Day yet”.
The Steelers signed Watt to a record-breaking extension back in 2021, which nearly came down to the proverbial wire. At the time, that extension made him the highest-paid defender in the NFL. Since then, the Browns exploded the market with Myles Garrett’s deal.
While that $40 million per year contract will be a hurdle, it’s not as big as the one they cleared in the last deal. At the time, the Steelers retained a hard-and-fast policy of not providing guarantees after the first season of any contract with a non-quarterback. For T.J. Watt, they gave him the first three years guaranteed on his first extension. Since then, only Minkah Fitzpatrick has earned a second-year guarantee.
Still, perhaps it’s worth reminding that Watt arguably left some money on the table on his last extension in order to get those guarantees. Are the Steelers willing to pay him $40.1 million per season while guaranteeing three years? As Watt ages and arguably exits his peak, how high are they willing to go with guarantees?
T.J. Watt had a horrible season in 2024, if you ask a Yinzer in a bad mood. Despite the “down” year, he still managed 11.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, and a league-leading six forced fumbles. He finished as a second-team All-Pro, placing fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. Still not bad, I suppose.
By the way, 11.5 sacks are still tied for the 14th-most sacks in a season in Steelers history by anyone not named T.J. Watt. It’s not his fault that he recorded more than that five times. The only other player in Steelers history to record 11-plus sacks three or more times is Jason Gildon. James Harrison did it once. Let that sink in.
Anyway, the Steelers are going to sign T.J. Watt to a massive new contract in the coming months, and everyone is going to complain about how he’s not worth it and that they should have traded him for two first-round picks no team would have been willing to give up for him in the first place. So at least we have that to look forward to, perhaps sometime in August.
