What is holding up the contract negotiations between the Pittsburgh Steelers and T.J. Watt? The answer comes down to guaranteed money, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Fowler says Watt and the Steelers still remain far apart on that metric.
“Pittsburgh remains optimistic. I’m told they want to get a deal done,” Fowler said. “I know there’s been the trade chatter out there. Teams I’ve talked to don’t really expect him to be moved, but this is an issue of guaranteed money as a sticking point. The structure of the deal, all those details. Because most people I talk to around the league do expect him to be the highest-paid pass rusher when he does get paid. That doesn’t seem to be an issue. It’s about the other details that they haven’t been able to lock in on between the team and the player.”
Myles Garrett’s $40 million per year already sets a high bar for the Pittsburgh Steelers to meet when it comes to the next extension for Watt. Detroit’s Aidan Hutchinson could top that number, driving the asking price for Watt’s annual gross average and potentially guaranteed money up even more.
The 30-year-old edge rusher remains one of the NFL’s elites. At the annual league meetings last week, general manager Omar Khan said the team hopes to see Watt finish his career with the Steelers.
“I’m not going to get into the contract numbers, but if you’re referring to T.J. [Watt], I assume, I’ll just say that I’m very hopeful that T.J. will finish his career as a Steeler,” Khan said.
He had just 11.5 sacks this past year and dealt with multiple injuries throughout the season. Following the season, Watt noted he wanted to stay with the Steelers.
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