T.J. Watt seemed to be headed for a possible training camp holdout until he and the Pittsburgh Steelers suddenly reached a contract agreement last week to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in football. All of the insider reports indicated that the two sides were far apart on a deal including the length of the contract and the number of guaranteed years. We now have some clarity into what each side wanted in the negotiations.
“They were just really far apart disagreeing on the length of the contract,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter said via The Pat McAfee Show today. “I think he would’ve wanted four years. I think they would’ve liked two years. They compromised, met at three.”
The last time the Steelers gave Watt a new deal in 2021, it was a four-year extension. The Steelers wanted fewer years this time around since Watt will turn 31 years old in October. A two-year extension would have been surprisingly short, so it makes sense that the two sides were being viewed as far apart in their negotiations. Ultimately the Steelers were able to give him $108 million guaranteed to get the deal across the finish line on a compromised length.
Had the Steelers gotten their way, Watt would have been under contract through his age-33 season. It seems likely that the two-year extension would have required guarantees the whole way through rather than the roster bonus year they tacked on for the deal he actually signed. Watt, on the other hand, wanted a contract through his age-35 season.
Other reports throughout the process indicated that Watt’s slowdown in production was a sticking point for the Steelers in wanting to give him too many additional years on a new contract.
According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, the Steelers didn’t expect the deal to come together so quickly. It’s unknown whether any adjustments were made in the final hours to get the deal across the line, or if one side made concessions and deemed it good enough in a change of heart before camp. Either way, the Steelers have the face of their franchise for four more seasons.
