After an offseason full of roster changes, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren't done taking care of business yet. While they've made several roster upgrades, T.J. Watt is still hoping to get a new contract done with the Steelers too.
For now, Watt is set to have a $30.4 million cap hit this season, in what will be the final year of his contract. However, his salary will come in quite a bit lower, at $21.05 million. However, the four-time All-Pro reportedly wants a new contract that pays him much, much more.
The question is, how much more does Watt want? According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette , Watt would like to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.
"This isn't going to be as easy as the last contract with T.J., where he was in his prime … they saw a little bit of a decline last year. The stalemate is going to be that Watt wants to be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. And the Steelers are looking at it that he's age 31. In order to accommodate any kind of large contract, it can't be a three-year deal, it has to be a five-year deal because you need to spread the money out. It's not a smart business decision for the Steelers, and they know it."
Did Watt really decline? While he didn't lead the league with 19 sacks as he did in 2023, Watt still recorded an impressive 11.5 sacks, which was good enough to earn him a second-team All-Pro nod and finish fourth in the AP's Defensive Player of the Year voting. In other words, if there was a decline, Watt still performed at an elite level.
Meanwhile, the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL today is Ja'Marr Chase at an annual average value of $40.25 million per season. Which means if Watt's next contract tops Chase, he'd break a record as the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.
There's been no official word from Watt's camp that he wants to be the highest-paid defender, yet it's not an entirely unreasonable demand for the best player on the Steelers today. Watt has yet to win a Super Bowl with the Steelers, and perhaps the team feels like an extension would get in the way of their long-term goals to win a Lombardi.
No matter what, the Steelers have to do something to make Watt happy before he takes the field for his ninth NFL season.
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