The 2025 NFL offseason was marked by contract extensions that reset the market at several positions, especially edge rusher, a role in which T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers has consistently been one of the league’s best and most dominant.
However, while players like Myles Garrett and Max Crosby secured new deals— with Garrett becoming the first edge rusher to break the $40 million per year mark— Watt has yet to see movement on a new contract. Now entering the final year of his deal in 2025, an insider reports that an extension might be on the way.
Ian Rapoport Gives Insight on Steelers’ T.J. Watt Contract Extension Talks
Year after year, Watt has cemented himself as one of the top edge rushers of the past decade in the NFL. From 2019 to 2024, he was named first-team All-Pro four times, earned a second-team All-Pro nod once, and won Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, becoming the cornerstone of the Steelers’ defensive identity.
From that perspective, Watt can be viewed as the most important player on the team in recent years. While the offense struggled to impress or inspire, the defense kept Pittsburgh competitive, reaching the playoffs in four of the last five seasons. Aside from 2022, Watt has been a consistently available and reliable presence, a highly valued trait at his position.
On the Pat McAfee Show, insider Ian Rapoport said he expects a deal to get done eventually and emphasized that the Steelers are not about to let go of their most valuable piece.
“I believe that a TJ Watt deal is gonna happen with the Steelers..
It just hasn’t happened yet” ~ @RapSheet #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/VkVK1QOVHZ
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 9, 2025
“I mean this is the next big deal for the Steelers to do. I believe it’s gonna happen, I believe they’ll get to a number that everyone can be happy with, it just hasn’t happened yet. While the edge market is kind of a little bit in flux with Trey Hendrickson and Micah not done, like, this is another one that we’re kind of waiting on,” Rapoport said.
What might be holding up the extension is Watt’s age and playing style. While players like Garrett and Nick Bosa offer more versatility against the run and align in multiple techniques, Watt still plays more like a traditional outside linebacker, focused more on rushing the passer rather than run defense.
That could create complications over Watt’s contract’s length and structure during negotiations. The longer the Steelers waited to get an extension done, the more the market kept rising, leading to the point we’ve reached today. Still, it’s hard to imagine Pittsburgh without Watt, the franchise’s most valuable player since Ben Roethlisberger stepped away from the quarterback position.
Currently, Watt ranks as the seventh-highest-paid edge rusher in terms of average annual salary. His next deal is expected to approach, or surpass, the $40 million per year that Garrett received from the Cleveland Browns. Watt will remain one of the NFL’s few elite defenders as long as his on-field performance continues to deliver.
