Cam Heyward’s contract situation has been a sore subject for the last two offseasons as he staged mini hold-ins during the offseason to negotiate a better deal. That won’t be the case this time around, as the Steelers got ahead of the issue and rewarded him for his continued excellent play.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, Heyward and the Steelers agreed to a revised contract that added a year and some new money.

“SOURCES: The Steelers have added a year to DE Cam Heyward’s contract, creating nearly $5.5 million in cap space. His new deal is worth $32.25 million over two years with the first year guaranteed,” Dulac wrote on X.

SOURCES: The Steelers have added a year to DE Cam Heyward’s contract, creating nearly $5.5 million in cap space. His new deal is worth $32.25 million over two years with the first year guaranteed.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 10, 2026

This new contract ties Heyward to the team through the 2027 season, which would be his 17th straight season with the Steelers since being drafted in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. Turning 37 in May, he is under contract through his age-38 season.

Heyward didn’t get a great revision to his contract last offseason despite pushing for a new deal for most of the offseason. They ended up adding a bunch of incentives to his deal, which required him to hit certain sack totals and team playoff success. None of the reported incentives were reached.

Without all of the full details announced, here is our Dave Bryan’s best educated guess on the financials behind this new contract. As Dulac reported, his 2026 cap hit will drop, creating more room.

On the surface, it appears as though maybe Cam Heyward received $2M more in new money for 2026. The team appears to have added that to his 12.95M roster bonus that is due in March and turned the $14.95M into a signing bonus. If that’s what happened, Heyward’s 2026 cap charge…

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) March 10, 2026

The 2027 year added to Cam Heyward’s contract is really APY fluff to make the new money average raise. None of Heyward’s 2027 contract year should be guaranteed. The added year also helps break up the signing bonus proration so his 2026 cap charge can lower. The main takeaway…

— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) March 11, 2026

His sack production dipped last season, but his overall performance did not. Heyward had 78 tackles, his most since 2021, including nine TFLs, a forced fumble, and six passes defensed. He was named a second-team All-Pro to add to his impressive career resume.

At 92 career sacks, Heyward has an excellent chance of reaching the 100-sack club to all but solidify himself as a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Ian Rapoport reported more complete numbers on the deal.

“$32.25M total value with $16.25M fully guaranteed. Total dollars and new money avg of $18M APY makes it the largest contract awarded to an NFL defensive player in NFL history 36 years or older,” he wrote.

Full details for Cam Heyward: It’s a 1-year extension, per The Insiders.

$32.25M total value with $16.25M fully guaranteed. Total dollars and new money avg of $18M APY makes it the largest contract awarded to an NFL defensive player in NFL history 36 years or older.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2026

Heyward makes history with this new contract.