And there you have it! T.J. Watt has been extended through 2028 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was already under contract for the upcoming 2025 NFL season. Now, he will not be hitting free agency until 2029. As the dust settles, we now have some of the details of his extension: It is a three-year deal worth $123 million, with $108 million fully guaranteed. Mike Florio did a bit of a deep dive in looking at some of the particulars.
In doing his research, Florio found these six key points in Watt's new four-year deal/three-year extension.
- $40 million signing bonus
- $4 million fully guaranteed base salary for 2025
- $32 million fully guaranteed base salary for 2026
- $32 million fully guaranteed base salary for 2027
- $15 million offseason roster bonus for 2028, which kicks on day three of new league year
- $21.05 million base salary for 2028
So if you did the math, the $40 million signing bonus, the $4 million base salary for 2025, the $32 million base salary for 2026 and the $32 million base salary for 2027 all add up to the $108 million in fully guaranteed money. I am totally good with the $40 million signing bonus and the $4 million fully guaranteed salary for this year, but the fully guaranteed marks for 2025 and 2026 could be a problem.
Watt has not missed a ton of games so far, but he will play out his age-33 season all fully guaranteed.
The guarantees will be what makes or breaks T.J. Watt's mega-extension
The timing of it all should make sense. The Steelers are not paying a ton against the cap with Watt for this season. This is why they can afford to bring Aaron Rodgers into the fold at quarterback. By the time the first of two fully guaranteed seasons at $32 million a pop kicks in, the Steelers may already have drafted another rookie quarterback. What if they struck gold with Will Howard as a sixth-round pick?
While Watt has had a far cleaner bill of health than his older brother, when players exit their primes in the NFL they fall off a cliff, precipitously. Watt is already on track for a Pro Football Hall of Fame career, just like his older brother. While it is a good thing he gets to close out his prime in Pittsburgh, the money Pittsburgh has to give him this year, next and so on could hold them back moving forward.
Truth be told, he may be worth every penny, but Watt has not exactly translated to winning since coming aboard the Steelers nearly a decade ago. He has never won a playoff game before. and this is a franchise defined by winning Super Bowls, not simply making the postseason. We can only hope that this new contract gives Watt the peace of mind to go out and get what is his en route to a title.
Of course, his money has already been set aside, and cannot be used on anyone else in Pittsburgh.