Steelers Signing OLB T.J. Watt To Four-Year Deal Worth Over $112M

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that the Steelers and OLB T.J. Watt have agreed to a four-year extension worth over $112 million and includes $80 million fully guaranteed at signing.

This contract will pay Watt $28.003 million per year and makes him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history.

The two parties had been working to get a deal done before the start of the regular, which is typically when Pittsburgh shuts down extension talks for the remainder of the year. 

Multiple teammates have publicly supported Watt in his negotiation with the Steelers, but it looks like they were able to find the kind of deal that works for both parties long-term.

Watt, 26, is a former first-round pick of the Steelers back in 2017. He played out his four-year, $9.258 million contract and made a base salary of $1.72 million in 2020.

Pittsburgh exercised Watt’s fifth-year option last offseason for $10.089 million in 2021. 

In 2020, Watt appeared in 15 games for the Steelers and recorded 53 tackles, 15 sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles, and seven pass defenses.

We had him included in our Top 50 – 2022 Free Agents list.