The Pittsburgh Steelers and DL Cam Heyward agreed to a two-year, $29 million extension last offseason that was essentially a restructuring. This came after the team asked Heyward to reduce his salary. Speaking to the media after Monday’s practice, Heyward, who’s currently holding in as he seeks a new deal from the team, told reporters that the team asked him to take a pay cut last year, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.
After Heyward and the Steelers agreed to terms on the new deal, he went out and had one of, if not the best, seasons of his career, totaling eight sacks, 12 tackles for a loss among 71 total tackles and 11 passes defensed. More importantly, Heyward, who only played 11 games in 2023, stayed healthy, playing in all 17 regular-season games and Pittsburgh’s playoff game last season.
Entering his age-36 season, Heyward said he approached the Steelers in February to seek a new contract, but it hasn’t gotten done. With Week 1 less than a month away, he’s making his request for a new contract public. As evidenced by his first-team All-Pro nod in 2024, the fourth of his career, Heyward is still one of the best defensive linemen in football. He’s not paid like one, though, with his contract ranking as the 23rd-highest among interior defensive linemen, sandwiched between Javon Kinlaw at No. 22 and Dalvin Tomlinson at No. 24.
Those players aren’t close to Heyward’s caliber, so it’s understandable that he wants a new deal. It’s also not completely surprising that the Steelers wanted Heyward to take a pay cut last offseason. He was coming off an injury-shortened 2023 campaign, and while he was still the team’s best run defender, it didn’t seem he had a lot of pass-rush juice left, as he had just two sacks in 11 games. At 35 years old, the Steelers weren’t necessarily wrong for seeing if Heyward would be open to a pay cut, but the restructure was a happy medium.
But he went out and proved last season he’s still one of the best defensive players in the league, and he wants to be paid like it. It’s hard to fault him, especially after seeing the Steelers go out and give a big extension to WR DK Metcalf immediately upon acquiring him. They also gave a raise to CB Jalen Ramsey and an extension to TE Jonnu Smith. OLB T.J. Watt got a well-deserved extension this offseason as well, and now Heyward feels as though it’s his turn to get paid.
With his initial request coming in February, Heyward saw everyone else get paid while he’s been waiting, which could be why he made it public that he wants a new deal. It puts some pressure on the team, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if things get done between now and Week 1.
While Heyward didn’t take a pay cut like the team may have wanted, his deal last offseason was exceedingly team-friendly. After proving he’s worth a lot more than he received, he understandably wants to be paid, and it should only be a matter of time before that happens. But given how long his request has lingered without any action, it’s fair to at least wonder if the Steelers are going to cave.
