PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers made star outside linebacker T.J. Watt the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player on Thursday, signing him to a pact that will keep the perennial All-Pro in black-and-gold well into his 30s.
Watt, who was entering the final season of the four-year extension he signed in 2021, is scheduled to make $123 million over the course of the three-year agreement, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract had not yet been made public.
ESPN first reported the extension.
Watt appeared to celebrate by making a rare Instagram post on Thursday afternoon, sharing a picture of him flexing in his signature No. 90 jersey. Watt also posted a photo in his Instagram stories of him posing alongside protégé and third-year Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig.
The average annual value of $41 million eclipses the previous record contract for a defender set by Cleveland defensive lineman and reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett in March.
The value also eclipses the average salary of Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who became the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback after agreeing to a new contract worth $40.25 million a season.
The fact that Watt’s extension is worth 2.5% more per season than Garrett’s (whose overall total value of $204 million is still higher than Watt’s) is not a coincidence. Watt, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler, has long believed he is the best edge rusher in the NFL.
For the second time in four years, he’s being paid like it.
Watt, who turns 31 in November, took the unusual step of skipping mandatory minicamp last month in hopes of putting pressure on Pittsburgh’s front office to get something done. Head coach Mike Tomlin brushed off Watt’s absence, saying it was only a matter of time before things worked themselves out.
The timing couldn’t be better. The new-look Steelers — now led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers — report to training camp at Saint Vincent College next Wednesday.
They’ll do it with a familiar face in tow. Watt, who tied an NFL record by racking up 22½ sacks in 2021, is the linchpin of a defense that will be relied on heavily if the Steelers want to end a playoff drought that stretches back to the 2016 AFC Championship, a few months before the Steelers selected Watt with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 draft.