With the Pittsburgh Steelers dealing with the T.J. Watt contract situation, there has been speculation on whether both sides will agree to a long-term deal. As the rumors around the Steelers' star in Watt will continue, there has been an interesting perspective on the matter, one from Patrick Rooney Jr., a member of the family that owns the team, though he's not part of the team.
Rooney would be on the “Palm Beach Kennel Club” and would say how he doesn't believe that Pittsburgh should pay Watt, even going as far as to express that it would be “insane to pay him anything right now.” He would, of course, acknowledge how great of a player he has been for the team thus far.
“T.J. is a great player, great Steeler. Insane to pay him anything right now. Absolutely insane. He's 31 years old,” Rooney said. “But again, if you're going all-in this year, then you're gonna have to re-sign him. But again, you're making moves right now that you're trying to do something for this year. That, to me, based on anything you've seen in the last several years, just doesn't make sense.”
The latest update regarding the Steelers and T.J. Watt
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) reacts on the field against the New York Giants during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium.
© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
While the football world will speculate on the amount of money that Watt is asking the Steelers to give him, there's no doubt that both sides, especially the team, want a deal done. This would be said by ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler, who reiterated on SportsCenter Saturday what a member of the team expressed.
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“I talked to somebody with the team who said, ‘Look, these are complicated deals to do, but we are working on it. We want T.J. Watt here,’” Fowler said.
“It’s guaranteed money, and it’s term length. A lot of the details, they get sticky this time of year, especially as you’re leading up to training camp,” Fowler continued.
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It remains to be seen when and if a deal will get done between the Steelers and Watt, as the opening game of the season is on Sunday, Sept. 7, against the New York Jets.