For the past several months, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals have been in a race to get a contract extension done with their star edge rushers. Neither T.J. Watt nor Trey Hendrickson participated in summer team activities. But finally, we have a winner.
With less than a week before players are required to arrive at Steelers training camp, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that Pittsburgh reached terms on a three-year, $123 million contract extension with Watt that will pay the superstar pass rusher $108 million in guarantees.
This deal was a long time coming, and it wasn't hard to figure out that Watt would be the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Early in the offseason, the Cleveland Browns inked Myles Garrett to a contract extension worth $40 million per season. Over the past six months alone, three edge rushers earned new deals worth north of $35 million per season.
With Watt's lucrative deal, the pressure just got even tighter for the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' extension with T.J. Watt just made the Bengals' contract talks with Trey Hendrickson more complicated
The Bengals have been in a back-and-forth tussle with Trey Hendrickson in contract disputes that began last year. After earning 17.5 sacks for the second straight season, Hendrickson wants to be paid like one of the top edge rushers in the NFL, but Cincinnati has been unwilling to oblige.
Before Watt's extension, the two parties were worlds away from a deal getting done. Now the pricetag for Hendrickson just jumped even further.
Though Hendrickson has more sack production than even T.J. Watt over the past two seasons, he won't get paid like the four-time Steelers All-Pro and 2021 Defensive Player of the Year. However, with each record-breaking contract extension that passes, the price tag continues to go up.
Because of his production, Hendrickson is going to want a deal in the mold of what Danielle Hunter and Maxx Crosby earned this offseason (at least $35.5 million per year). And quite frankly, Hendrickson may not be willing to settle for that after finishing second in DPOY voting, earning First-Team All-Pro honors, and leading the league in sacks in 2024.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans can finally sit back and relax, knowing T.J. Watt is going to be with this team for the foreseeable future (and possibly the remainder of his NFL career). Now we get the pleasure of watching the Cincinnati Bengals hit the panic button as their contract talks with Trey Hendrickson just got even more complicated.