Steelers' Updated Salary Cap After Historic $123M T.J. Watt Contract Extension

T.J. Watt is staying with the Pittsburgh Steelers after landing a historic contract extension on Thursday.

Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the star pass rusher inked a three-year, $123 million contract extension that includes $108 million fully guaranteed. At $41 million per year, Watt is now the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Per Spotrac, the Steelers had $298.2 million in total cap allocations and $25.2 million in cap space for the 2025 season. Watt was already Pittsburgh's highest-paid player before the deal with a cap hit of $30.4 million.

The deal for Watt came after he skipped the team's mandatory minicamp in June as he awaited an extension. Amid his holdout, Schefter reported that a handful of teams were mulling the idea of trying to trade for Watt.

Luckily for the Steelers, it never got to a point where the team was forced to trade Watt, and now, all signs point to him retiring in Pittsburgh.

The Steelers drafted Watt in the first round in 2017, and he's stayed with the team his entire career. During that time, he's earned first-team All-Pro honors four times, seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Player of the Year award, though one could argue he's deserving of more than just one.

On his way to Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, Watt tied the NFL single-season sack record with 22.5. While he hasn't reached that number in the years since, Watt remains one of the best pass rushers in the league and is well worth the high price the Steelers paid him.

Watt is coming off a season in which he tallied 61 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss and six forced fumbles. He'll look to remain just as dominant on his new contract.

Pittsburgh has had a big offseason so far. The team added offensive weapons in quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver DK Metcalf, and recently traded for former All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

Now the Steelers have secured their star pass rusher for years to come, and they'll look to make a deep playoff run after years of early exits.