Pundits have left little doubt that the Pittsburgh Steelers will make edge rusher T.J. Watt one of the highest-paid defenders in the league again with his next contract. How high Watt lands on the highest average annual salary list for defenders, though, remains to be seen.
Bleacher Report’s James Palmer reported Wednesday that it could be at the very top, even higher than Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett.
“I’m hearing there’s a chance Watt gets past $40 [million per season], which is something we’re really keeping an eye on, right? That if he gets that $40 million per year at the age that he is at. ” Palmer said on his NFL Insider Notebook. “He has every right to ask for it. I’ve talked on here a lot about the comparisons between him and Myles Garrett. The numbers are almost identical in every aspect in terms of superlatives and in terms of numbers, and they came in the same draft class.
“He has the right to try to get that. We’ll see.”
Watt will enter the final season of the four-year $112 million extension he signed just ahead of the 2021 NFL campaign. At the time, the deal made Watt the highest-paid NFL defender.
On that extension, the edge rusher has received an average annual salary of $28 million.
But other defenders have blown past that historic deal over the past four years. Garrett signed a four-year, $160 million extension with the Browns this offseason.
Garrett’s contract will pay him $40 million per season through 2030.
Will T.J. Watt Pass Myles Garrett’s $40 Million AAV Contract?
Insiders have sent mixed signals on this topic throughout the offseason. While Palmer implied it was very possible Watt gets a new record-setting deal, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wasn’t as sure when he addressed the situation on June 12.
“Because we are still waiting on some of those massive deals, it’s a little tricky to see where T.J. Watt belongs,” said Rapoport.
The implication with Rapoport’s report was that Watt wasn’t simply going to be paid more than Garrett. Instead, Rapoport suggested Watt’s value somewhere in the edge rushing tier below Garrett.
As it stands now, the Browns edge rusher is in a tier by himself when it comes to average annual salary. His $40 million per season is $3.4 million more than the next highest-paid defender in the league — Danielle Hunter.
Maxx Crosby, who received a new contract this offseason as well,
NFL Insider Projects Potential Record-Setting Deal for Steelers’ T.J. Watt