The Pittsburgh Steelers begin training camp next Thursday with players due to report the day before for their annual conditioning test at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. All eyes will be on whether or not perennial All-Pro OLB T.J. Watt is in attendance as they continue to negotiate his contract. While reports have indicated that the two sides remain far apart on a deal, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the Steelers remain hopeful.
“Pittsburgh remains optimistic, I’m told they want to get a deal done,” Fowler said this morning via ESPN’s Get Up. “I know there’s been the trade chatter out there. Teams I’ve talked to don’t really expect him to be moved, but this is an issue of guaranteed money as a sticking point. The structure of the deal, all those details. ‘Cause most people I talk to around the league do expect him to be the highest-paid pass rusher when he does get paid. That doesn’t seem to be an issue. It’s about the other details that they haven’t been able to lock in on between the team and the player.”
The Steelers’ aggressive offseason of change suggests they are trying to overcome their playoff woes and win now. Failing to extend Watt—and whatever the 2025 ramifications of that decision may be—would make the rest of their offseason strategy much less coherent. And the team’s salary cap and cash situation strongly suggest that they need to pay Watt to stay compliant with the collective bargaining agreement this year and next.
Most reports seem to agree that Watt will eventually become the highest-paid defensive player in the league, surpassing the high mark set by Myles Garrett at $40 million per season earlier this offseason. But the high base salary doesn’t sound like it’s enough to get the deal done. Some of the finer details like his signing bonus or overall guarantees beyond the first year or two of the contract sound more contentious.
The Steelers really don’t like to guarantee salaries deep into contracts for non-quarterbacks, though they made an exception with Watt in 2021. It’s hard to walk that back, and I would bet he is expecting something similar this time around. That would have him turning 33 during his final season with significant guarantees. His slight dip in production at the end of the 2024 season could have the Steelers worried and ultimately looking for concessions from Watt’s camp.
If Watt doesn’t show up to training camp with an actual hold out, trade rumors and media pressure will reach a new high in Pittsburgh. But for now, the Steelers seem to remain hopeful that a deal will get done.
