Pittsburgh Steelers superstar edge rusher T.J. Watt is going to get paid a hefty chunk of change at some point.
When that happens remains to be seen, though, as Watt and the Steelers continue to work through contract negotiations while the All-Pro defender is holding out.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter weighed in on the situation and believes that Watt is going to garner a contract that pays him in the range of what the Las Vegas Raiders gave Maxx Crosby and the Cleveland Browns gave Myles Garrett.
Crosby’s contract pays his $35.5 million annually, while Garrett tops the market at $40 million per year. Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter falls in the middle of those two at $35.6 million annually.
“[Trey] Hendrickson, Watt, I think they’ll be in the Crosby, Garrett range,” Schefter said on Unsportsmanlike on Monday. “Somewhere in there.”
While he didn’t say so explicitly, it would appear that Schefter doesn’t expect Watt will match or top Garrett’s deal. That falls in line with recent reporting from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who says the Steelers don’t want to pay him that much.
“You know, if they possibly can, they’re going to try and not make him the highest-paid edge rusher in the NFL,” Rapoport said of Watt and the Steelers.
If we split the difference between Garrett and Hunter, that would put Watt’s contract at $37.8 million per year, making him the second-highest-paid edge rusher in terms of annual average.
Over a four-year contract, that amounts to a $151.2 million deal, which, based on total value, would put him third at the position behind Nick Bosa’s $170 million deal with the San Francisco 49ers, and Garrett’s $160 million deal with Cleveland.
As far as when we can expect a resolution, the sense is that Watt and the Steelers could take it all the way up to the start of the regular season.
Watt and the Steelers agreed on his previous $112 million contract extension right before Week 1 of the 2021 campaign. He is currently on the final year of that deal.
