Steelers and Alex Highsmith agree to terms on a lofty new contract extension

Omar Khan apparently has a different way of doing business. The new Pittsburgh Steelers GM wasted no time in making Minkah Fitzpatrick the highest-paid safety in the NFL last June. Now Khan has locked up one of his best defenders for the foreseeable future.

On July 19th, Alex Highsmith officially inked a contract extension with the Steelers. According to Ian Rapoport, this is a four-year extension worth $68 million.

Highsmith's new deal now catapults him into the top-10 highest-paid players at the edge rusher position in the NFL. After a remarkable breakout season in 2022, many would call this deal justifiable. Last year, Highsmith recorded 14.5 sacks and led the NFL with 5 forced fumbles, per ESPN stats. He did this despite playing 7 games without T.J. Watt lined up opposite of him to alleviate pressure.

Did the Steelers make the right move?

Steelers fans were certain that something would get done with Highsmith before the season, but like Fitzpatrick's extension, Omar Khan wasn't about to let this contract dispute carry into Steelers training camp or the preseason.

Now the question becomes: did the Steelers do the right thing by paying Highsmith so much?

Strictly from a numbers standpoint, it's hard to argue with what the former third-round draft choice did in 2022 -- especially considering the circumstances. Highsmith has been very fortunate when it comes to health and staying on the field, which could have helped his agent in contract negotiations as well.

While he doesn't have the highest pressure rate, Highsmith is a well-rounded edge defender who can stop the run and harass the quarterback. His elite spin move is arguably the best in the NFL today.

Still, $17 million per year is a lot of money, and he will need to keep up the pace in order for Pittsburgh to justify dishing out this much money to their edge defenders. The contract he received comes as no surprise, however, and we estimated that his new deal would be in the $16-18 million per year average range.

In short, the Steelers did the right thing here. While they could have pressed their luck throughout the summer, hoping Highsmith's agent would come down on the price a bit, it wasn't worth the wait for Pittsburgh. The alternative was letting him play out the final year of his contract and either slap the franchise tag on him or let him sign with a different team during the 2024 free agency period.

I know this seems like a lot of money for an EDGE2, but Highsmith is a quality football player and a building block for this Pittsburgh Steelers team. We don't have all of the contract details or guaranteed money numbers at this time, but this was an expected signing by the Steelers. Highsmith will look to build on his career year with a strong performance in 2023.