For those of you hoping T.J. Watt will settle for anything less than the top-of-market deal he probably deserves, one national insider may have some bad news. Bleacher Report’s James Palmer passed along the latest on what he’s hearing about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ best player.
“I’m hearing there’s a chance Watt gets past $40 [million per season],” Palmer said Tuesday during his weekly NFL Insider Notebook via Bleacher Report. “He has every right to ask for it. I’ve talked on here a lot about the comparisons between him and Myles Garrett. The numbers are almost identical in every aspect in terms of superlatives and in terms of numbers, and they came in the same draft class. I mean, he has the right to try to get that.”
Had the Steelers made an aggressive enough offer earlier in the offseason, perhaps a deal would have gotten done. Though it’s entirely possible that Watt and his agent intentionally held off on their decision to see how the rest of the market played out.
There is no doubt that Watt and his agent have every right to ask for a top-of-market deal. Palmer is painting a picture of two players with nearly identical stats, but that’s not entirely accurate. If you are Watt or his agent, you are pointing to Watt having seven more interceptions, 32 more passes defensed, 13 more forced fumbles, 5.5 more sacks, 10 more tackles for loss, and 25 QB hits than Garrett in just four more games played.
Unfortunately for Watt, there is recency bias at play with him finishing lower than Garrett in sacks last season for just the second time in his career, excluding the year he was out injured. Watt’s sluggish finish to the 2024 season is one of the few things the Steelers can attempt to use to negotiate for a lesser amount.
The Steelers made Watt the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history when they signed him to a massive contract in 2021. Are they going to do that again for a player who is about to turn 31 years old? Adam Schefter said he would be “surprised” if it happens, but Palmer seems to be hearing the opposite.
Watt already showed how serious he is by skipping mandatory minicamp. I don’t think the Steelers want to get into a situation where he holds out of training camp as well. The clock is ticking with camp starting in just under a month from now, and Trey Hendrickson or Micah Parsons could further complicate matters with new deals of their own.
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