3 reasons Steelers fans shouldn’t be too upset with T.J. Watt’s DPOY snub
By Tommy Jaggi
Aaron Donald beat out T.J. Watt for the Defensive Player of the Year award. Here’s why Steelers fans shouldn’t be too upset.
Steelers fans around the globe woke up fuming on Sunday morning, taking their thoughts to social media. On Saturday night, the NFL announced its annual honors, including Most Valuable Player (Aaron Rodgers), Coach of the Year (Kevin Stefanski), and Comeback Player of the Year (Alex Smith). Prior to the announcement, T.J. Watt was still the favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year; however, it was Aaron Donald who once again received this honor.
Watt has now strung together a thoroughly impressive two seasons in 2019 and 2020, and I completely understand why fans are upset (I’m a little upset about it too). However, when we look at the big picture, it may not be the worst thing that the Steelers All-Pro edge defender fell just short of this award this year. Here are three reasons fans shouldn’t be too upset about T.J. Watt’s DPOY snub:
Money plays a factor
For what he’s been able to accomplish since being drafted by the Steelers in 2017, T.J. Watt deserves to be the highest-paid edge defender in the NFL. But winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2020 would have only added to that number.
Right now, Joey Bosa is the highest-paid edge defender in the NFL in terms of yearly value – raking in $27 million per season, While Myles Garrett comes in just a shade behind at $25 million per season, according to Over the Cap. I certainly expect Watt’s range to be right around what Bosa is making, and adding DPOY honors to his resume could have made him even more costly on his next deal.