T.J. Watt, Steelers Reportedly Apart on Guaranteed Money, Contract Length amid Rumors

Amid his ongoing holdout from the Pittsburgh Steelers, T.J. Watt is reportedly unhappy with two key aspects of his extension talks with the club.

Appearing on Saturday morning's SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler explained people within the NFL believe Watt and the Steelers are apart on the guaranteed money and years on a potential new deal:

"Well, people I've talked to around the league believe that it's guaranteed money, it's term length. A lot of the details that get sticky this time of year, especially as you're leading up to training camp. Now I talked to somebody with the team who said, ‘Look, these are complicated deals to do, but we are working on it. We want T.J. Watt here.’ There's not a lot of traction right now as far as a potential trade, although there would certainly be a lot of interest."

Watt has skipped all of Pittsburgh's offseason activities to this point while awaiting a new contract. The situation has reached a point where opposing teams have at least talked about trying to trade for the seven-time Pro Bowler.

Despite the outside interest in Watt, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported on Monday the Steelers have "no intention" of trading him and they are intent on extending his deal.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters at the end of mandatory minicamp he was "optimistic" the team would work things out with Watt, but he didn't put a timetable on any resolution.

A complicating factor for the Steelers is that the market for top-tier edge rushers has gone up this offseason. Myles Garrett became the first non-quarterback to sign a deal worth $40 million annually on his four-year, $160 million extension with the Cleveland Browns.

Maxx Crosby followed that by signing a three-year, $106.5 million extension with the Las Vegas Raiders that made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL.

There's also the looming Micah Parsons' contract with the Dallas Cowboys that is expected to surpass Garrett's deal if and when it gets worked out.

One key difference is Watt is older than all three of those players. Garrett is the oldest member of that trio at 29. Crosby will turn 28 on Aug. 22. Parsons turned 26 on May 26.

Watt, who is entering the final year of his current contract with a $21.1 million salary, will be 31 on Oct. 11, has shown no signs of slowing down.

The Wisconsin alum recorded 27 quarterback hits, 11.5 sacks and six forced fumbles last season. He has finished fourth or higher in Defensive Player of the Year voting in five of the past six years.