The Pittsburgh Steelers ended their offseason contract saga with defensive lineman Cameron Heyward by agreeing to include additional incentives for the 2025 season in his deal. If the Steelers experience playoff success in January, Heyward could make an additional $3 million.
But despite the potential for additional pay, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac speculated that it’s not what the 2024 first-team All-Pro was seeking with a new deal.
“I would be willing to bet that Cam Heyward won’t agree that his contract was settled with any form of satisfaction there,” Dulac said on 102.5 WDVE’s Morning Show with Randy Baumann, via Steelers Depot’s Ross McCorkle. “It’s obviously better than nothing, but basically, it’s not a whole lot more than nothing unless they get a playoff run, and he’s very productive.
“It’s not what he was seeking. Can’t imagine that he’s happy or even satisfied with that deal.”
If Heyward earns all of his additional incentives, which NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported as $3.2 million, then the defensive lineman will make about $18 million this season.
Before the incentive, Heyward’s 2025 deal had a total cash value of $14.75 million according to Spotrac. He’s ranked 22nd among interior defensive linemen in the league.
At $18 million, Heyward would vault up that list to No. 11 overall among defensive linemen.
Steelers’ Cameron Heyward Still Not Happy With Contract?
It’s important to note that Dulac stating Heyward isn’t happy with the deal is an opinion and not a report. But it makes sense to connect the dots that way. That’s especially true when Dulac did report the incentives weren’t what Heyward was seeking in a new deal.
The Steelers have a strict team policy that the organization doesn’t re-negotiate contracts when there’s more than a year remaining on the deal. Heyward entered this offseason signed through the 2026 campaign.
To reach a new agreement, both Heyward and the Steelers had to cave on something. The team did with their no re-negotiation with two years on a contract. So, it makes sense Heyward didn’t exactly get what he wanted either.
But unless the Steelers win in the postseason, Heyward could end up with nothing.
In conclusion, the team saved face, offering the All-Pro defensive lineman something. Heyward saved face too because at least he received something.
But it might result in zero additional dollars in Heyward’s bank account. And if the Steelers win in January, it’s not a huge sacrifice for the team to hand out a few extra million to a defensive captain.
Heyward Declines to Address Contract After Jets Win
After Week 1 was the first opportunity the defensive lineman had to publicly address his contract. Heyward, though, declined to do so.
There’s two different ways to look at that response. First, at face value — that Heyward was being sincere and a good team captain. He didn’t want to take the spotlight away from the team.
The second is if he’s truly unhappy with the new contract. If that’s the case, then perhaps he didn’t want to voice his displeasure again through the media.
Through August, it became clear Heyward was losing the battle in the court of public opinion. Some pundits defended Heyward and agreed he was underpaid.
But a lot of fans and pundits didn’t understand why Heyward agreed to the two-year extension in the first place if he was going to want a new deal in 2025.
Heyward then appeared to lose a lot of the support when he threaten to sit out regular season games, especially in the week leading up to the season opener.
“Heyward has earned upward of $130 million thanks to the ol’ Not For Long. All of it has come from the Steelers. In the grand scheme of things, it’s kind of hard to say Heyward has been disrespected or undervalued,” wrote The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey.
“His words have also done little to sway the court of public opinion, which has been as lopsided as some of the team’s recent playoff scores. Fans don’t want to hear it.”
While maybe not exactly what he wanted, if Heyward can help the Steelers tilt those lopsided playoff outcomes in their favor, at least he can earn something a little extra.
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