T.J. Watt has broken the bank once again. He’s agreed to terms on a contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers, locking him in with them for the next four seasons. However, with Watt turning 31 in October, not everyone loves this deal. Analyst Gregg Rosenthal is a little more worried about the long-term impact of Watt’s deal.
“It’s actually, in terms of fully guaranteed money, more than Brock Purdy got, who’s a quarterback, and more than Myles Garrett got into that third year where it’s fully guaranteed,” Rosenthal said recently on his NFL Daily podcast. “He’s going to be 33 that year.
“I thought T.J. Watt had his worst season last year. In the second half of the season, he looked a little worn down. To me, this is a highly risky deal. I would hate to doubt T.J. Watt, but the fact that he’s going to be making $36-40 million in his age-33 season is a big-time risk.”
Last year, Watt recorded 11.5 sacks and six forced fumbles. It wasn’t his worst NFL season, with his injury-plagued 2022 campaign still taking that spot. Even when only talking about healthy seasons, Watt’s rookie year was still worse than his 2024 season.
However, an argument could be made that 2024 was Watt’s most disappointing end to a year. Including their playoff game, Watt was held without a sack over the Steelers’ final four games of the season. His impact lessened significantly. Couple that with Pittsburgh through a brutal losing streak, and it’s fair to say that Watt didn’t have the 2024 season he wanted.
After a finish like that, it makes sense why Rosenthal is exercising some concern with this deal. It isn’t often that pass rushers continue to be as dominant once they get into their 30s. Von Miller, one of the best edge rushers of this generation, hasn’t made a Pro Bowl since his age-30 season. Watt could be in for a similar decline.
However, that’s not guaranteed. Many of the NFL’s best pass rushers have continued to be productive after turning 30. Examples include DeMarcus Ware, Khalil Mack, and Julius Peppers. This deal could look great for the Steelers if Watt follows in those players’ footsteps.
Also, the Steelers were in a position where they had to pay Watt. This offseason, they’ve made a handful of moves to try and turn themselves into Super Bowl contenders. Not paying Watt would’ve contradicted that. It’s a risk, but it’s one that the Steelers had to take. If they’re as good this year as they want to be, then the Steelers probably won’t be too upset at the long-term effects of this deal.
