The news broke on Thursday that the Pittsburgh Steelers and edge defender T.J. Watt had agreed to terms on a new contract. The contract was announced as a three-year extension that adds $123 million to the last year of Watt’s old contract. That extension works out to $41 million per season for those three seasons and makes Watt the highest-paid player in NFL history who doesn’t play quarterback.
Let’s grade out this contract from a Steelers standpoint as well as Watt’s.
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Steelers
There are a couple of reasons that the Steelers win by making this deal, regardless of the money, and why they knew it had to be done. For one, Watt is a Steeler for life. He’s going to go into the Hall of Fame and the franchise knew Watt, like Cameron Heyward, needs to retire with this team.
But maybe bigger than that, we aren’t sure the Steelers could afford to let Watt go from a talent standpoint. Fellow starter Alex Highsmith has had one big season but aside from that 14.5-sack campaign in 2022, his production has been fairly pedestrian. Add in Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer, who are more potential than production, and keeping Watt secured, consistent production on the outside.
Grade: A
Watt
For Watt, this move was an easy one for him. Watt has always handled himself with professionalism and been an ideal representative of the Steelers. When discussing Steelers DNA, Watt is the standout. As for the amount, Watt was wise to stick to his guns to set the bar with his contract. Mainly because we all understand that his position at the top is fleeting, Cincinnati’s Trey Hendrickson and Dallas’ Micah Parsons will both likely pass him up with their upcoming contracts and this won’t even matter.
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And given how the Steelers are able to manipulate the salary cap, Watt makes this move with confidence that his salary won’t hinder the front office’s ability to operate.
Grade: A-
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Grading the Steelers new contract for EDGE T.J. Watt