Reporter shares how Steelers can 'creatively' make T.J. Watt happy with contract extension

Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is among observers who have suggested that Pittsburgh Steelers unsettled pass-rusher T.J. Watt may be "obsessed" with surpassing the four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M guaranteed that Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns signed this past March. 

During an appearance on the latest edition of the KDKA "#1 Cochran Sports Showdown" program, Steelers reporter Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review shared how the club could make Watt happy but also protect itself as it pertains to salary-cap rules. 

"I think what they'll probably do is...find a way to creatively make the average annual value maybe look 41 million or 40 million and a half or 40 million and $1," Adamski said about Pittsburgh's discussions with Watt's camp, per Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. "And then you can creatively void years or non-guarantees, things like that. You can make it so everybody sort of wins, where T.J. gets to say he is the highest-paid defensive player. And the Steelers maybe don't commit to five years and everything else. There's a lot of accounting tricks out there in the salary-cap world." 

Analysts such as Audacy's Mark Schlereth commonly mention how teams find ways "to manipulate" the salary cap and hold onto star players. That said, one report from ahead of this past weekend indicated it's unlikely the Steelers and Watt will work something out before veteran Pittsburgh players are due to report to training camp on July 23.

Watt is in the last year of his contract, and the Steelers could retain his rights for 2026 via the franchise tag. That said, he showed back in 2021 that he's willing to restrict himself to individual drills throughout a summer "hold-in" until he receives a deal to his liking. It's unclear if he'll report to training camp and practice without an extension in hand next month. 

Interestingly, Benz pointed out that Watt could use the fact that both Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals also want extensions "to get $40M and one penny to exceed Garrett’s total." It's widely believed Parsons will reset the market before September, which could make Watt's deal more expensive for Pittsburgh. 

There's no sign the Steelers will even entertain trade offers regarding Watt's services after they signed 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers to be their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. Thus, Steelers general manager Omar Khan has roughly one month to "creatively" figure out a solution to the Watt saga that hasn't yet gotten ugly for the club.