T.J. Watt, Ja'Marr Chase, Richest Non-QB NFL Contracts After Historic Steelers Deal

Nobody in NFL history outside of the quarterbacks has been paid like Pittsburgh Steelers pass-rusher T.J. Watt.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Thursday that Pittsburgh and Watt agreed to a three-year, $123 million contract extension that features $108 million in guarantees. The $41 million annual average makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history for the second time in his career.

Here is a look at the biggest per-year contracts for non-quarterbacks in the league after the deal, per Spotrac:

• T.J. Watt, OLB, PIT: $41 million
• Ja'Marr Chase, WR, CIN: $40.25 million
• Myles Garrett, DE, CLE: $40 million
• Maxx Crosby, DE, LV: $35.5 million
• Justin Jefferson, WR, MIN: $35 million
• CeeDee Lamb, WR, DAL: $34 million
• Nick Bosa, DE, SF: $34 million

Notably, the extension is a relatively short-term one, which will keep him with Pittsburgh through the 2028 season.

Watt will turn 31 years old during the upcoming season. The Steelers likely didn't want to be in a position where they were paying him a record-amount of money after he turned 35, and both sides were able to come to terms on something that worked.

And Watt's resume suggests he will perform over the course of this deal.

The Wisconsin product is a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time First-Team All-Pro selection who won the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year award and led the league in sacks three different times.

He was virtually unblockable during that Defensive Player of the Year effort when he tied for the single-season sack record of 22.5. He also led the league with 19 sacks during the 2023 campaign.

It's a testament to Watt's greatness that last season was seen as something of a downturn in production, even though he tallied 11.5 sacks, a league-best six forced fumbles, four passes defended and two fumble recoveries. That is a career season for most, but it wasn't quite up to his recent standards.

He still made the Pro Bowl and helped lead the Steelers to the playoffs.

What's more, he clearly showed the front office enough to commit three more years to the franchise cornerstone at a price that nobody outside of the quarterback position has ever made to this point.

There will surely be someone else in the coming years who surpasses his record total, just like there was the last time he became the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

But he returned for his crown Thursday and, for the second time in his career, reset the market.