The Steelers found a gem when they drafted T.J. Watt with the 30th overall pick in 2017. Here’s why he will receive the biggest defensive contract Pittsburgh has ever handed out.
In his first three years in the luge, edge defender T.J. Watt has made large strides each sesaon. Since being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watt has improved in every major statistical category each year.
In 2019, the former first-round draft choice made first-team All-Pro at the age of 25. He recorded 14.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, 36 quarterback hits, and 18 pass defenses in addition to leading the league in pressures and forced fumbles, according to Pro Football Reference.
Just three seasons into his NFL career, Watt is on a Hall-of-Fame pace and has outproduced legends like DeMarcus Ware and Khalil Mack early in their careers. For these reasons and more, there is no doubt that T.J. Watt will soon be awarded the largest contract Pittsburgh has ever handed to a defensive player.
Predicting Watt’s contract extension numbers with the Steelers
Currently, Watt is still earning just over $2.5 million for the upcoming season as he enters the last cheap year of his rookie deal. Obviously, it was a no-brainer for the Steelers to award him the fifth-year option in 2021 that is set to pay him about $10.1 million next season, according to Over the Cap. However, there is certainly a chance he gets a longterm extension done before this.
Currently, Myles Garrett is finalizing an extension that will make him the richest defender in the NFL, Ian Rapoport reports. Though we don’t know his exact numbers yet, his deal is said to be worth $125 million on a five-year extension. This skyrockets his cap hit up to $25 million per season.
Sadly, Garrett’s insanely huge deal sets the stage for what the Steelers will have to do with T.J. Watt. Though their roles are slightly different, both are edge defenders who are among the best in the league at getting after the quarterback. If Watt continues to dominate in 2020, he could see a contract that earns him very similar money to Garrett.
As of now, however, I’m predicting that the Steelers will be able to lock up Watt for around $22 to $23 million per season. Pittsburgh will no doubt want to get a longterm deal done to keep him around for the foreseeable future. When Watt finally gets his deal done, it could be something along the lines of a 6-year, $132 million extensions. This would pulverize any other defensive contract Pittsburgh has handed out in the history of their storied franchise.
It’s still a little bit early to predict how much money T.J. Watt will make on his next deal, but there is no doubt that Myles Garrett’s massive extension will play some sort of factor. Regardless, if Watt continues to be a dominant force, the Steelers should make him the highest-paid edge defender in the league if it means he will stick around for the long haul.