TJ WATT JUST SIGNED A LUCRATIVE CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH STEELERS

TJ WATT JUST SIGNED A LUCRATIVE CONTRACT EXTENSION WITH STEELERS

All right, I guess we don’t have to worry about TJ Watt getting traded or TJ potentially holding out or holding in during training camp or potentially skipping the 2025 regular season if things got really ugly because he just signed a record-breaking deal per Adam Sher. TJ has become the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history for the second time in his illustrious career, reaching an agreement today on a three-year $123 million extension that includes $108 million fully guaranteed at signing. The 41 million per year average is the highest of any non-quarterback in NFL history. The deal has been in the works between CA Sports and the Steelers front office for months. Once I saw TJ post a Instagram story of him smiling his ass off with Nick Herbig training out in I think Wisconsin I’m guessing I was like something’s up like TJ looks too happy for him and the Steelers to be as far apart as what the media is saying. And I think that Adidi even had a report today that said the disrespect between TJ and the Steelers is even worse or the Steelers disrespecting TJ is even worse than what it was back in 2019 or 2020 when they when TJ was trying to get his first big contract. So I saw that I’m like something’s up. Like TJ looks too happy in this picture right here. I’m sure something’s going to get done soon. And it happened today. Uh, this is no team friendly. This is no hometown discount. Yeah, I thought there was going to be some sort of meeting in the middle between organization and TJ Watt, but no, TJ, he got his money. He got his bag. And even with the fully guaranteed, because that’s one thing, like you look at the three years, 123, the 41 per year, like that’s the big headline number, right? Record-breaking contract. That that’s what gets everyone talking. That’s that’s what the headline but it’s like what’s the fully guaranteed because Miles Garrett’s was four years 160 million but like 120 that’s guaranteed. So it was like a little bit over 30 per year average. Same with Max Crosby. This is like not only topping Miles Garrett and Max Crosby’s deal from the headlines. Three years 123 million. That’s 41 million per year on average is right there. But then you look at the 41 or the the guarantees aside from that 41 million the 108 million divide that by three that’s 36. So that’s the fully guarantees is like the more significant uh thing here if you look at it because the 41 that’s you know a little bit over Miles Garrett right now. That’s 1 million per year over Miles Garrett but the fully guaranteed is even more so. 36 million versus Miles Garrett only getting a little bit over 30. Max Crosby getting a little over 30 in the fully guarantees. So TJ got his money, man. He definitely got his money. And there were talks that the years was a sticking point. TJ wanted more years, maybe four or five. Steelers wanted it to be less. So maybe that was a part of the negotiation. That was a part of the equation here. TJ would move off the number of years from four to five to something shorter like a three. But we got to give him more guarantees. We got to give him more per year. More per per year to the extent that it would be record-breaking and more than Miles Garrett. Uh yeah, this had to be done. I’m not the biggest fan of the 41 million per year from a Steelers standpoint and how this may not be the smartest way to construct a team in 2025 and going forward given that this is even though it’s not a four or five year deal, it’s still a multi-year deal. And the fact too that TJ’s 30 and is coming off of not one of his best seasons where he looked like vintage TJ Watt, especially at the end of it those last four or five weeks was kind of a no-show, but it had to be done, man. It just it had to be done. So, I’m happy that the deal was done. I’ll put it to you that way. I’m not happy exactly at the numbers and all that stuff. Thought it would be a little bit more of a team friendly deal. It wasn’t going to be over 40 million. wasn’t going to be something that had to be higher than Miles Garrett or Max Crosby. Now, Max Crosby makes sense cuz he got 35. I think if TJ would have gotten like 36, 37, that still would have been reasonable for him. It wouldn’t have been a slap in the face to get that type of money. Yeah, it would have been a little less than Miles Garrett, his rival, but still like I think everyone would have understood that this was a meeting of both sides in the middle and TJ really wants to be a Steeler. That that’s what this is more about. He’s trying to benefit the team, give them a little bit of a discount versus what the market value is. But that it just didn’t happen. T TJ got his money. He got his money, man. Good for him. Um, and good for the Steelers again for getting this thing done because now the messaging is all clear going into training camp. All clear going into week one of this regular season that yeah, we’re trying to win a Super Bowl. We didn’t make these big time moves, the the Rogers signing, the DK Madaf trade, the Jaylen Ramsey Minka swap. We didn’t do all these moves for nothing because if we if it would have got ugly with TJ Watt and there would have been a standstill. we trade him or he sits out or what or he’s he’s going to play or like he still goes to uh practice and ends up playing in these games and shows up but he’s a mal content like that kills the vibes now he got his contract he’s happy everyone’s happy on this team singularly focused on the goal of winning the Super Bowl so I like that I do like that 41 million though it’s whatever here here’s what here’s a A couple things you got to look at. First is you would be able to trade TJ Watt at the end of this season if things go to He’s not going to have the same value most likely because he’s going to be another year older as opposed to if you were to have traded him this off season, but you could still move off of this contract. You’re still going to have some flexibility there. like a contender would, I think, be more than willing to take on a chance of TJ Walt being on their roster to get them over the edge, get them over the hump to try to win a Super Bowl, um, and give up, you know, some sort of mid-round pick, late round pick. So, there’s that. Um, I don’t expect things to go to though. I think the Steelers are I mean, worst case, we’re going to be over a little bit over 500. We’re going to be in the mix, but I don’t expect that to happen. And I don’t expect TJ Watt to go completely downhill either. He’ll at least he he’ll at least give you double digit sacks. And but that’s not why you’re paying TJ Watt 41 million for double digit sacks and being really good. You’re paying 41 million for a deep candidate or a deep winner and a guy that’s making impact plays left and right and is giving you vintage TJ Watt type of stuff. It’s fair to question if we’re going to continue to get that after what TJ did second half of last season. But at the same time, if someone can do it, it is TJ Watt. If there if there is someone that can age like a Cam Hayward, can be one of those guys that could still get it done at a high level into their early 30s. I I mean I wouldn’t be counting out of TJ Watt for the amount that he works and how dedicated he is and just what he’s showcased throughout the course of his career up to this point. Maybe we can consider the last half of last season an outlier. Honestly, if you look at his career, that is an outlier, but age factors in and you got to consider it. Yeah, you got to consider it whenever you’re projecting what he’s going to be doing over the next two, three, four years uh into the equation. That’s a fact. But this this is a shortterm deal, three years, 123. I I get the guarantees are high. You’ll be able to be flexible with this thing. I I Noar Khan ain’t stupid with these contracts. You’re going to be able to, I think, move off of it if things go to hell at the end of the season. And it’s obvious we need a reboot, complete clean house, you’ll be able to move off of it. Uh but also, yeah, I think probably after that year two, you’re going to have some flexibility with it. Even with those guarantees being as high as it is, you’re going to have some flexibility. Maybe there’s another restructure to be had after that point. And here’s the other thing I’m going to be interested in. I was trying to look up more details before clicking record. It’s a three-year 123 extension. So, by definition here, that’s just extension on what his contract already is. He has one more year left on what he previously signed. So, is this really like a four-year deal? And that 41 million per year is actually less. It’s actually is something in the mid30s because it’s added on to what he already had. I don’t know because that’s what happened with the Shawn Elliot contract. That’s what happened with John Smith’s extension. You see the again the headline number. Oh, Johnny Smith signed this one-year double-digit extension, but it’s an extension on what top on top of what he already had and the per year with the current contract is actually less than double digits. I think for Johnny Smith’s case, it’s like seven and a half or eight million. And then Deshawn Elliott, same thing. We saw that initial number, wasn’t it around like eight or nine per year on the extension, but tacked on to what he already had, it was like five or six million per year. So maybe I don’t know. I gotta see what more details come out with this thing because it could be a little deceiving right now. And at the end of the day, even if I don’t like this 41 million per year average, it just it had to be done. It had to be done that like there are things I like about this. Again, it it sends the clear message that we are all in for 2025. We don’t have to worry about any drama, anything like that. We got the squad. We got the roster ready. Now, now could we still maybe add another receiver? That remains to be seen. I think with the Drone Smith trade, we we got enough weapons on offense to go into week one confident. But wouldn’t mind a Gabe Davis signing if, you know, he gets healthy towards the end of preseason or a couple weeks before the regular season starts. That wouldn’t be the worst signing in the world because obviously it would be cheap. There it would be low risk, potential, high reward. But I think we got guys I think we got guys on offense. Rogers ain’t lacking for weapons at this point. Um, we got our squad. We’re ready. I think we’re all in, singularly focused, Super Bowl, no drama, no outside noise. And it’s just, it’s what you had to do. When when you made the Aaron Rogers signing, you did all these trades with DK Madaf, Jaylen Ramsay. Like, honestly, that’s where TJ Watts leverage came from in my opinion. The Steelers waited to give him the extension. So, you got to see Miles Garrett get his done and also Max Crosby get his done. And then you made big swings and you didn’t do anything with TJ Watt whether it was the extension or trade him and the draft came and went. Free agency the big part of free agency came and went and you got this squad with Rogers who clearly once TJ Watt and his team said as much whenever he did his introductory press conference. You got Aaron Rogers here. You got Ramsay. you got these big big signings and trades that you just made where you said yeah last year and the status quo of what we’ve been doing isn’t good enough big shakeup look Steeler fans we are all in you guys were calling for change this is the change but not having TJ Watt be a part of that would would be like all right uh how much does this really help us win a Super Bowl you know we got Rogers here we got DK all this but we don’t have TJ Watt on defense question mark now at edge rusher position. But no, I mean we’re loaded from a talent standpoint. We’re loaded from an on paper standpoint. As I said, there’s no reason why you can’t consider us in the mix with some of these other top AFC teams. No reason. Just look at our roster on paper. Got to execute. Obviously, that’s the name of the game in this league. But Rogers coming off of 28 touchdowns, 11 picks with the shitty Jets organization now that you’re removed from that Achilles. It’s not a far stretch that we get elite quarterback play from. And that’s that’s the name of the game here, too. Like honestly, you need a TJ Watt, but this comes down to elite quarterback play as I’ve been hammering on all off season. Like, it’s all for the the trades, the TJ Watt stuff. If Aaron Rogers ain’t playing like Aaron Rogers or some form of fashion of Aaron Rogers and giving us elite quarterback play, top 10 quarterback play, it ain’t going to matter any none of this stuff’s going to matter anyway. It It’s just not. Um, so that’s what we need. That’s that’s really the secret sauce here. Aaron Rogers got to play Elite, but having a TJ Watt, having the defense and the names that we got on defense now and the weapons he has on offense is only going to help. It’s only gonna help. With him having the contract that he’s got and Omar Khan being awesome at GM, we’re able to have all these pieces in place for this last dance. Even though it’s not really a last dance, it’s more like a f a first dance in a way. It’s a last dance for some of these guys like a TJ and Cam Hayward. Um, but it’s Yeah, this is like the first crack at it, but also in a weird way, the last crack at it. It’s the 2025 Steelers. This is This is Yeah, this ain’t your grandpa’s Steelers. Not Not at all. Uh this is how we do things now. Uh yeah, new quarterback every year, crazy ass signings in the off season, headlines, splash moves, and we feel Yeah. devastating endings to seasons where you feel hopeless and all of a sudden a few months go by in the offseason, we’re back. And with this TJ signing, like that. Yeah, that’s how I’m feeling. The TJ signing, the Roger signing, the moves we made, like we’re back. This move needed to happen. Vibes are high. We’ll worry about the numbers later. We’ll worry about the business, the the contract, and the value and all that. We’ll worry about that in 2026. We’ll worry about that stuff and whether or not we got to restructure it, if it was a smart move or for the future. We’ll say smart move or not for the future. Smart move right now. Smart move or not for 20. We’ll worry about that in 2026. We can get off it if we got the that’s fine. All in 2025. Let’s go. Here we go. Steelers. Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.

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