It took a little while longer than he might have hoped, and it might not have been exactly what he was looking for, but Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward is happy to put the whole contract situation behind him and just focus on football now.
Seeking a raise and a contract restructure, Heyward ultimately got some incentives added to his contract for the 2025 season. He has to just go out and earn them. He’s happy to get that chance.
“I’m only realizing how more I’m relieved just because I’m sleeping a lot better. But I’m glad to put that behind us,” Heyward said to reporters Thursday regarding the contract situation, according to video via Steelers.com. “Glad I can just focus on football and go out there and earn it.”
According to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, Heyward will receive $1.6 million if he records 8.0 sacks and the Steelers make the playoffs. He’ll receive another $1.6 million if he records 11.5 sacks and the Steelers win a playoff game. However, there’s now a contract clause that if Heyward fails to play 30% of the snaps defensively he’ll lose $875,000 from his roster bonus.
The initial $1.6 million of his incentives counts against the cap for 2025 as “likely to be earned” (LTBE), according to Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora. The other $1.6 million will not count as it’s viewed as unlikely to be earned.
After stating he couldn’t justify playing on his 2025 contract while coming off an All-Pro season in which he recorded eight sacks and dominated from start to finish, the incentives don’t exactly seem like what Heyward wanted in a revised deal.
But he’s happy to just put it behind him and be able to focus on football again.
“I think it has to be a compromise on both sides. I understand they don’t normally do it, and all I’m asking for is the opportunity to go out and earn it,” Heyward said of the incentives. “And that’s just what I wanna do.”
The future Hall of Famer and one of the great Steelers defenders of his time staged a mini hold-in during training camp, participating at times in individual drills but sitting out of team drills. He floated the possibility of sitting out regular-season games, too, if nothing was done to his contract.
Fortunately, both sides came to an agreement the night before the season opener, locking Heyward in for the rest of the season. At 36 years old and playing a physically demanding position, the incentives seem like a tall task, particularly the 8.0 sacks. But he did it last season, and the defense got even better this season.
It’s all right there in front of Heyward to go earn it. That’s what he wanted.
