After nearly a year of desiring a new contract, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward received that from the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported the Steelers added another year to Heyward’s contract.
This accomplished a few things. First, Heyward now has added security, as he is under contract through the 2027 season. The defensive lineman won’t become an unrestricted free agent until 2028.
The Steelers also created an additional $5.5 million in cap space with the move.
Heyward has spent his entire career, which began in 2011, with the Steelers. The organization drafted him at No. 31 overall following their Super Bowl defeat to the Green Bay Packers.
Like fine wine, Heyward has gotten better with age. He’s made six All-Pro teams, all after turning 28 years old.
Since his groin injury during 2023, which argued would be the beginning of his decline, Heyward has made two of those All-Pro teams.
In 2025, he posted 3.5 sacks with nine tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits. He also had six pass defenses with 78 combined tackles.
Behind those statistics, Heyward made second-team All-Pro.
Steelers Add Additional Year to Cameron Heyward Contract: Report
The veteran defensive lineman has arguably been looking for a new contract for two years. After a groin injury plagued his 2023 campaign, Heyward was seeking additional security since he only had one season left on his contract.
The defensive lineman received a 3-year, $45 million extension in September 2024. However, the deal wasn’t to his liking, as he explained about a year later. Heyward told reporters last August that in September 2024 time, he told the Steelers that he would want to return to the table next year after he returned to form.
Heyward returned to form with an incredible aged-35 season. But with two years still left on his contract before the 2025 campaign, the Steelers weren’t willing to return to the negotiating table.
Heyward staged a training camp hold-in and created doubt over his Week 1 status. He didn’t miss any regular season games, and he did get a contract adjustment based on incentives.
But Heyward didn’t score the big deal that would pay him what he felt he was worth. In fact, reports indicate Heyward didn’t reach any of the new incentives in his contract.
Details With Heyward’s New Contract
Dulac reported Heyward’s new contract value is $32.25 million through 2027. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added that Heyward will have $16.25 million fully guaranteed in 2026.
Although it was an educated guess, Steelers Depot’s X account offered a more complete breakdown of the new deal.
“Heyward was originally scheduled to earn $14.25M in 2026 with $1.3M being base salary and $12.95M being a mid March roster bonus,” wrote Steelers Depot.
“The Steelers added on one additional year, 2027. They also added $18M in ‘new money.’ $2M of that new $18M goes to Heyward in 2026. That new $2M is being combined with the $12.95M roster bonus and then converted into a signing bonus and prorated over 2026 and 2027, the new year. Heyward’s $1.3M base salary for 2026 is also now fully guaranteed.”
Heyward can then earn the additional $16 million of “new money” added to his contract during the extra year in his contract. That’s assuming he doesn’t retire and the Steelers don’t release him next offseason.
Steelers Depot predicted his $16 million for 2027 will not be fully guaranteed.
It will be interesting to see what the defensive lineman has to say about this new contract extension. Heyward hosts his own podcast and openly shares all of his opinions publicly.
So, if he remains unhappy, Steelers fans will likely know soon.
There’s a lot of new money in his contract. But it’s possible he is only fully entitled to about $2 million extra.
In 15 seasons with the Steelers, Heyward has posted 92 sacks. His 228 games played is second-most in the franchise’s history behind only Ben Roethlisberger.
But if Heyward finishes his contract and plays 22 out of a possible 34 regular season games, he will pass Roethlisberger on that list.
Steelers Create Additional Cap Room With Cameron Heyward Move: Report