Pittsburgh Steelers fans didn't have to wait very long for assurance that Alex Highsmith would be around beyond the 2023 season. On July 19th, Ian Rapoport confirmed that Highsmith had signed a four-year, $68 million extension with the Steelers.
Just like last year with Minkah Fitzpatrick, Omar Khan clearly didn't want to get into a situation where this contract dispute spilled over into Steelers training camp and the preseason. With this extension in the books, Highsmith can focus on working out with his team in an effort to help them get back to the playoffs.
While fans can breathe a sigh of relief that Highsmith will be around for the foreseeable future, this contract doesn't come without a sizable hit to Pittsburgh's salary cap. The extension makes Highsmith the 10th-highest-paid edge defender in the NFL in terms of new yearly money at $17 million per season.
This isn't cheap --especially for a number two EDGE. When you consider the lucrative deal that T.J. Watt received just before the 2021 season started, these two players are going to be taking up a good chunk of the team's total cap space moving forward.
Steelers have the second most expensive edge defender duo in the NFL
Prior to Highsmith's extension, the Pittsburgh Steelers were already forking up just over $28 million per season to T.J. Watt, according to Over the Cap. Now the duo of Watt and Highsmith will equate to a whopping $45 million per year in new annual earnings.
This makes them the second most expensive edge tandem in the NFL. The only pairing more expensive is the Chargers' combination of Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. While these two players account for a whopping $50.5 million per season, they also have 11 combined Pro Bowl appearances and both players have been considered among the top 5 in the NFL at their position.
Most expensive EDGE tandems in the #NFL (per year average):
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) July 19, 2023
Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack: $50.5M/year
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith: $45.0M/year
Maxx Crosby and Chandler Jones: $40.0M/year
Bradley Chubb and Emmanuel Ogbah: $38.3M/year
Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith: 36.6M/year
The Steelers tandem of Watt and Highsmith is roughly $8.5 million more per season than the combination of Myles Garrett and Za'Darius Smith. When looking at it that way, it's hard to argue that Pittsburgh got any sort of discount here.
Despite all of this, there was just no alternative that made sense. If the Steelers would have let Highsmith play out his contract and walk, they wouldn't even be guaranteed to get a compensatory pick the following year, as the formula depends on what they would then spend in free agency in 2024. Highsmith is way too good to let him walk away for essentially nothing.
Likewise, the franchise tag might not have been the best choice, as this would be even more expensive and is fully guaranteed. Slapping the tag on a player can also be a bad PR move that sometimes damages relationships.
While the Steelers edge defender duo of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith is one of the most expensive EDGE pairings in the league, they have both continuity and chemistry that should help their defense play at a high level for years to come. Sure, we can argue that Pittsburgh forked up a bit too much to keep Highsmith around for the future, but Omar Khan wasn't about to let a few million dollars prevent him from keeping one of his best players.
Besides, two years from now, spending $45 million per year on a pair of pass rushers isn't even going to look like a ton of money. Players leapfrog each other all the time when new deals come up. Steelers fans should just be happy that they have a rock-solid EDGE pairing in Pittsburgh for years to come.