Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby’s massive new three-year, $106.5 million deal almost certainly caught the attention of T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Watt, who’s heading into the final year of his contract, could be looking for $35 million per season now.
J.J. Watt believes the Steelers messed up by not giving his brother an extension sooner. They could have got a hometown discount, but now the price will rise with so many pass rushers in line to receive new deals.
“The earlier you get the deal done, the better deal you get. That’s just a fact,” Watt said on the Pat McAfee Show Thursday. “That’s why, my personal belief, they should have done it last year because I think there was a hometown discount to be had last year. But now the longer you wait this year, you’ve got Micah [Parsons] coming up. Like you said, you got Aidan Hutchinson, you got Myles [Garrett]. These guys are getting new deals.
“That number’s gonna inch closer to four in front of than threes. So you’re gonna want to get that done earlier rather than later because the price isn’t going down.”
Watt, 30, did have a bit of a down year in 2024, registering the third least sacks in a season (11.5) in his career. The other two seasons were his rookie year (seven sacks) and 2022 (5.5 sacks) when he played in just 10 games due to a knee injury.
Watt has also never won a playoff game, so there’s been some speculation that he would want to move on somewhere else to compete for a Super Bowl. He shut down those rumors, however, stating that he wants to be a one-helmet guy.
“I want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler,” Watt said. “You guys know that. I don’t want to leave this place. I want to be part of the solution. I’ve put so much into it here.”
“I feel like we have the pieces. It’s what I said a week ago going into the game. It doesn’t change just because of the loss. I still have a lot of belief in the people in this building because I see the work that’s behind the scenes.”
Steelers general manager Omar Khan said at the NFL Combine that fully expects Watt to be extended this offseason.
“T.J.’s one of those legacy guys,” Khan said. “I was around Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu. Those guys played their entire careers here and that’s a special thing. I’m hopeful and confident that T.J. will be one of those guys.”
Khan wasn’t willing to share the exact timeline of when that extension could happen, but it’s safe to assume it will be sometime between now and the start of the 2025 season.
“I don’t want to get into details on that. It’s been different, depending on the circumstances,” Khan said. “T.J.’s been a big part of this team. I’m confident and hopeful that he’ll be here for a long time.”
