Steelers' T.J. Watt addresses viral social media post during contract negotiations

Star pass-rusher T.J. Watt gave Pittsburgh Steelers fans a scare back in April when he suggested via an Instagram post that he was delivering a "peace out" message amid his desire for a contract extension. 

Watt and the Steelers eventually agreed to a three-year, $123M deal that included $108M guaranteed ahead of the start of training camp. On Wednesday, Watt addressed his social-media activity from the spring. 

"Sometimes it's just fun to have fun with the narratives out there," Watt said, as shared by Brooke Pryor of ESPN. "Obviously, I am very in tune with what's going on in negotiations and how things are going, and it's fun to see what you guys are all writing -- thinking that things are one way even though they're completely a different way. Sometimes it's fun, especially when it's early in the offseason, to just throw something out there and see what happens. It stirred things up a lot more than I ever thought it could."

At the time that he inked his deal, Watt became the new highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. It seems to be a lock that Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys will eventually better Watt's deal, so it's possible Watt could've received more money had he waited until later in the summer to accept Pittsburgh's final offer. 

"I just wanted the deal to get done, and obviously I'm happy it got done before training camp just to be able to be here to eliminate any potential distraction to just worry about football," Watt said. "It's a fun time of year...We always do all the traditions that makes this place special and hopefully leads to a successful season for us."

It always felt like it was a matter of when and not if Pittsburgh would make Watt happy following the club's win-now offseason moves. Specifically, the Steelers acquired wide receiver DK Metcalf, cornerback Jalen Ramsey, tight end Jonnu Smith and 41-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers. 

Watt recently made it known that it "genuinely bothers" him that he's never been part of a playoff victory since he entered the NFL via the 2017 draft. On Wednesday, he expressed confidence that his drought of postseason wins will end this coming January. 

"...You see the aggressiveness that we're taking organizationally," Watt added. "I'm doing everything I can personally, whether that's moving around, mentoring younger guys as much as I possibly can. Asking guys who have won Super Bowls before...what we can do. And I think that's really all that we can do and just keep putting our heads down and working."

As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the 2025 Steelers at +125 odds to make the playoffs. Perhaps Watt and Co. will use such information as bulletin-board material ahead of Pittsburgh's Week 1 game at the New York Jets, Rodgers' former team, on Sept. 7.