If the Pittsburgh Steelers were hoping for a smooth contract negotiation with their most valuable player this offseason, it doesn’t appear that is what they will get. T.J. Watt missed the voluntary portion of OTAs and is now reportedly set to skip mandatory minicamp. This is an escalation from his previous contract situation in 2021 when he was a hold-in at training camp and a signal of potential trouble behind the scenes.
“If you remember a couple months ago, he posted on Instagram a picture of him holding up a peace sign in a Steelers uniform that really got a lot of fans nervous,” ESPN’s Brooke Pryor said via Get Up this morning. “I was told at that point that he had not had contact with the organization to personally express his frustration with the contract situation. But all signs point to this not being as smooth as the Steelers had once hoped.”
The Steelers can fine Watt a little over $100,000 in escalating fines for every day of mandatory minicamp that he misses. They can also elect to not fine Watt.
For what it’s worth, Watt is a new father this offseason and his presence at minicamp doesn’t matter much in the end. The year that he staged the hold-in he ended up tying Michael Strahan’s single-season NFL sack record. Though it would have been nice for him to be around for the sake of young guys like Jack Sawyer at the very least.
J.J. Watt hinted via The Pat McAfee Show in March that the Steelers missed out on a “hometown discount” with Watt by not extending him last offseason. But the Steelers don’t renegotiate contracts when players have more than one year remaining on the deal. Should that change? Perhaps, but it’s how the team has always operated, and making exceptions can open a can of worms for players holding out early for a pay raise.
Maxx Crosby set the bar this offseason before Myles Garrett significantly raised the bar once again. Chances are good that Watt is looking to beat Garrett’s $40 million per season. The two have always been compared, and many thought Watt got snubbed when Garrett won NFL Defensive Player of the Year two seasons ago.
Are the Steelers willing to commit that type of money to a 30-year-old who experienced a dip in production toward the end of last season? They have plenty of money of cash and cap space to use with Aaron Rodgers taking such a steep discount. It would stand to reason that the expectation on Rodgers’ end is that the Steelers would retain their best player.
If the two sides can’t reach an agreement, could Watt hold out of training camp entirely? Those fines add up a bit quicker than the ones for three-day minicamp and could create a bigger headache for the team, especially as it pertains to media storylines.
