Steelers, T.J. Watt Agree To Extension

The wait has ended for T.J. Watt and the Steelers to work out an extension. Team and player have agreed to terms on another monster pact.

Watt has landed a three-year, $123MM extension, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. The pact includes $108MM in full guarantees. With an average annual value of $41MM, Watt has once again claimed the title of the league’s top earner for defensive players and all non-quarterbacks.

Myles Garrett reset the edge rush market when he signed a Browns pact averaging $40MM per year. Ja’Marr Chase did the same at the receiver position when his Bengals extension (carrying an AAV of $40.25MM) became official. To little surprise, Watt has surpassed both of those figures while helping to ensure he will finish his career in Pittsburgh. Progress has been made rather rapidly, as Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show notes no agreement was imminent as recently as six days ago.

Both parties in this case expressed a desire to work out a deal months ago, but Watt hinted at dissatisfaction with the early state of contract talks. Over time, this became one of many tense situations involving edge rushers around the league. A major domino has now fallen, though, and Watt is on the books through 2028. This agreement falls short of the length he was seeking, but the former Defensive Player of the Year has succeeded in moving the bar for pass rushers and securing multiple years of locked in money.

Watt has led the NFL in sacks on three occasions (2021-22 and 2024) and he has played in every game the past two seasons after a pec tear cost him notable time in 2023. However, a downturn in play late in the campaign and into the postseason last year was viewed as cause for concern on the Steelers’ part regarding a new deal. Watt already reset the market in 2021, but doing so as he enters his age-31 season obviously carries risk for the team. General manager Omar Khan and Co. are certainly banking on a major drop-off not taking place for several more years.

Watt has operated as the anchor of Pittsburgh’s EDGE group over the course of his All-Pro career, and he will remain in that role well beyond the coming season. Rumors about a potential trade circulated amidst his decision to skip minicamp, but a deal never seemed likely or imminent. A holdout (or at least hold-in) effort during training camp will now not be necessary to get this deal over the finish line, something which was the case last time for Watt.

Alex Highsmith has recorded at least six sacks in each of the past four years, and he remains on the books through 2027. He will remain a starter along the edge, with Nick Herbig and fourth-round rookie Jack Sawyer operating as rotational contributors. Watt (who has amassed 33 fumbles and 126 tackles for loss in his career) will be counted on to lead the way in terms of production once again this year and well beyond that point.

The seven-time Pro Bowler has yet to win a playoff game in his career, something Khan and the Steelers have aimed to change this offseason. Pittsburgh has aggressively pursued several new players through trade and free agency, breaking with standard practice in some regards. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, receiver D.K. Metcalf, cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay as well as tight end Jonnu Smith are among the new faces which will be relied on to end the Steelers’ drought for playoff wins in 2025.

Watt will of course also be a central figure in that effort. Regardless of if things go according to plan this year, though, he will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

T.J. Watt Seeking Market-Topping AAV, Four-Year Guarantee From Steelers?

The wait continues around the NFL for several high-profile edge rush contract situations to be sorted out. In the case of T.J. Watt and the Steelers, it remains to be seen if an extension agreement can be reached before Week 1.

Watt has drawn trade interest from suitors, but even though the Steelers are evaluating his value the pending 2026 free agent is widely expected to stay in Pittsburgh for at least one more season. Ensuring his future beyond that point will require another lucrative investment on the team’s part, with Watt a strong candidate to once again reset the pass rush market. A clearer picture of his asking price seems to have emerged.

During Monday’s episode of Kaboly+Mack (video link), Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show laid out the parameters of what he is “pretty sure” Watt is seeking. Per Kaboly, the former Defensive Player of the Year is angling for a five-year contract with the first four years guaranteed at an average annual value higher than Myles Garrett‘s $40MM. Topping Garrett’s mark in terms of per-year compensation has long been expected, but a commitment of that length by the Steelers would certainly be notable.

As evidenced by the fact an agreement is still not in place, the Steelers are not – at least for now – willing to go to those lengths to retain Watt on a third contract. Entering his age-31 season, the seven-time Pro Bowler naturally faces questions about his ability to remain among the league’s top pass rushers over the course of his next deal. Watt’s level of play late in the 2024 campaign is believed to be a cause for concern from the team’s perspective, and projecting his production over the coming years will be key for general manager Omar Khan in arriving at an agreement in this case.

Deviating from standard organizational procedure in a number of ways, Khan has taken a different roster-building approach in some respects than predecessor Kevin Colbert. 2025 in particular has seen the Steelers make notable win-now moves like the Aaron Rodgers signing and the trade acquisition of Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith. Pittsburgh’s chances of making a postseason run would be greatly hindered by trading Watt, and the team’s 1-10 record in games without him certainly helps the four-time All-Pro’s leverage in negotiations.

Steelers players are set to report to training camp on July 23, which marks a somewhat notable checkpoint in this process. A holdout would come as a surprise given the fact it would lead to mandatory fines, although some view Watt as the likeliest player engaged in extension talks to take that route. During negotiations on his second Steelers pact, the three-time sack leader opted to hold in and it would come as no surprise if he did the same this time around.

Garrett’s four-year, $160MM Browns extension (which contains just under $124MM in total guarantees and roughly $89MM locked in at signing) still represents the bar for edge rushers at this point, but Micah Parsons is among the players who could sign a larger deal before Week 1. Watt is in a similar situation despite the age gap between he and Parsons, leaving plenty to be determined over the coming weeks. It will be interesting to see if the Steelers find a middle ground between their valuation and his asking price in time for the start of the season.

T.J. Watt Not Expected To Engage In Holdout; Steelers Not Seeking Trade

JULY 14: While a holdout would come as a surprise based on the mandatory fines which would be incurred, Outkick’s Armando Salgero reports Watt is the seen as the likeliest player amongst those engaged in a contentious negotiation to take that route. Steelers players are set to report on July 23, and it will be interesting to see how Watt handles the situation.

JULY 11: No movement has taken place recently on the T.J. Watt extension front. Still, the situation is unlikely to result in a training camp holdout.

The former Defensive Player of the Year is expected to attend training camp, Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show reports. That comes as no surprise, since a holdout would lead to mandatory fines. In the absence of an extension, a hold-in (whereby players attend camp but do not participate in on-field work) would be more likely. Watt took that route during negotiations on his 2021 extension.

Kaboly adds team and player remain in a holding pattern at this point. Matters such as term and guarantees, but also overall value, are causing the ongoing holdup in this situation. It would be a good sign if there were only one or two sticking points, but there doesn’t appear to be any common ground, at the moment. As a result, Watt could very well find himself engaging in contract talks deep into the summer. Back when he signed his 2021 extension, an agreement wasn’t reached until only three days before the start of the regular season.

With the standoff in the negotiations, teams around the league have been calling to inquire on his availability, but Kaboly maintains that the Steelers have not made any such calls themselves. The team clearly wants to retain his services for the 2025 season, but after a disappointing stretch to end 2024, they’re hesitant to commit to anything long-term.

The four-time first-team All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler turns 31 this season, and though he reached double-digit sacks in 2024, the 11.5 total was his lowest since his rookie season (not counting and injury-riddled 5.5-sack 2022 campaign). Despite a strong 10-3 start to the year, the Steelers found themselves falling from the division lead as they lost their final four games of the season, while the rival Ravens won their final four. Watt was held sackless for the last three games of the regular season, and in both the regular season finale and the playoff loss in Baltimore, Watt failed to add a single statistic to the box score.

The ninth-year veteran defender will continue to push for the deal he wants, though, and a resolution may not end up coming until early September.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.