After agreeing to a contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, T.J. Watt became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. For a player who’s been as vital to the organization’s success as Watt has, the contract is well deserved. Former NFL linebacker Manti Te’o agrees. However, he also thinks the deal might make it harder for the Steelers to build a complete team around him.
“Congratulations T.J., well deserved. Now, there has to come a time, when you’re a player in this league, you have to make one of two decisions,” Te’o said Friday on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “Number one, I’m either gonna make a lot of money, or number two, I’m gonna win a lot of Super Bowls. It’s very, very rare that those two things happen at the same time. If you think about all these players that have the big contracts, very rarely do they make it to the playoffs the next year.”
Te’o’s argument, that teams with massive contracts struggle to build a complete team because of the salary cap, isn’t new. It mostly used against quarterbacks who take massive deals. However, it’s hard to see that as the case for the Steelers with Watt.
Going back to the quarterback position, the Steelers have no long-term money locked up there. Aaron Rodgers is on a one-year deal. The Steelers have found a way to be frugal with just about every quarterback they’ve brought in since Ben Roethlisberger. Assuming they draft a quarterback next offseason, which seems most likely, that player will be on a rookie contract for a few years before being extended. Barring a big trade or free agent signing, the Steelers won’t have to worry about a long-term investment in that position until around the final year of Watt’s deal, which runs through 2028.
It’s not like the Steelers lack cap space either. Heading into 2026, they have just a few massive contracts on the books. While plenty can change before next offseason, they should be near the top of the league in terms of available cap space. Likely not having to pay a quarterback, there will be plenty of money available to spend elsewhere.
If the Steelers were in a different position, this might make sense. If they were paying big money to a quarterback, and didn’t have as much money available next offseason, Watt’s contract definitely could hamstring them quite a bit. Fortunately, they’re in a fine spot right now, even after Watt’s extension.
Whether the Steelers will actually win is a different story. They haven’t been able get over the hump in the first round. A lot of things will have to go right for Pittsburgh to contend for a Super Bowl. That said, if things do go wrong, Watt’s contract won’t be the reason why.
