07/17/25 04:32:00
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07/17 16:31 CDT The Pittsburgh Steelers make star linebacker T.J. Watt the
NFL's highest-paid defender
The Pittsburgh Steelers make star linebacker T.J. Watt the NFL's highest-paid
defender
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- 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
protg 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 22 1/2 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.
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