T.J. Watt Reportedly Has 'Pretty Significant' Contract Offer from Steelers on Table

Pittsburgh Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly believes TJ Watt has already received a "pretty significant" offer to return to Pittsburgh.

"I'm under the belief that there is a contract offer on the table right now, which is pretty significant," Kaboly recently said at the 15:10 mark of the Kaboly and Mack podcast.

Watt has been absent from Steelers OTAs as he prepares to head into the final season of his current four-year, $112 million deal.

Chris Mack then asked Kaboly if the offer that had been made to Watt was "Garrett money."

Myles Garrett reset the market for defensive players with the four-year, $160 million deal he signed with the Cleveland Browns this offseason.

"Yes, I'm not 100 percent sure on that... I just assume, since he's not signing, if it's not terms, it's years, it's guaranteed money, something," Kaboly responded.

JJ Watt said in a March appearance on The Pat McAfee Show that his brother would not be offering the Steelers a "hometown discount" in this offseason's negotiations.

Watt led the NFL in sacks for two straight seasons between 2020 and 2021, then bounced back from knee surgery to pace the league in the category again in 2023.

But he is turning 31 in October, and he didn't play quite up to his past Defensive Player of the Year standards with his 11.5-sack 2024 campaign. The seven-time Pro Bowler went the final three games of the regular season, as well as the Steelers' Wild Card loss to the Baltimore Ravens, without recording a sack.

Steelers team president Art Rooney II told reporters in January that it was "unlikely" the team would trade Watt ahead of the final season of his contract.

Spotrac currently projects the Steelers as having the seventh-most cap space in the NFL with $32 million available. Pittsburgh may need to use that space to both solve negotiations with Watt and find a long-term solution at quarterback before training camp starts this summer.