Sources: T.J. Watt to sign new 4-year, $144 million deal with Steelers

Gerry Dulac and Brian Batko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 17, 2025

Published in Football

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PITTSBURGH — The Steelers believe in T.J. Watt to keep playing at a high level, and they showed him the money to do so on Thursday.

Watt and the Steelers agreed to a new four-year, $144.05 million deal that keeps him under contract through the 2028 season.

Sources told the Post-Gazette that the package includes $108 million guaranteed — nearly $30 million more than he was guaranteed in his previous five-year contract — which is always more significant than the total value or average annual salary.

Three months from his 31st birthday, Watt was set to earn $21 million in 2025, the final year of his current deal. The Steelers are effectively adding three more and guaranteeing the next three seasons for Watt.

Why does that matter? Because, by some measures, Watt now vaults past Cleveland star and rival pass rusher Myles Garrett. He doesn’t have as much long-term security as Garrett, who got a four-year extension from the Browns, but Watt surpasses him in fully guaranteed money.

Watt’s average salary of $36.0125 million is also now the second-highest for edge rushers in the league, only behind Garrett.

The new deal will also quell any questions about whether he would hold out of Steelers training camp, which begins next week at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.

The deal had been in the works between CAA Sports and the Steelers front office for months.