The Pittsburgh Steelers have their hands full once again with a defensive star seeking a contract adjustment. It was, for most of the offseason, T.J. Watt who was commanding headlines in a bid for an extension and/or an adjustment to his contract. Watt finally got it. Now, after seeing Watt get his ...
The Steelers and Cam Heyward should find an easy compromise amid a shifting precedent set by Pittsburgh’s aggressive offseason originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have their hands full once again with a defensive star seeking a contract adjustment. It was, for most of the offseason, T.J. Watt who was commanding headlines in a bid for an extension and/or an adjustment to his contract. Watt finally got it. Now, after seeing Watt get his extension, fellow long-time Steeler Cam Heyward is making a bid to get an adjustment of his own.
There's good news for both parties here, depending on your perspective. But good news for one side of the fence could be bad news for the other. Where's the middle ground?
How can Cam Heyward and the Pittsburgh Steelers resolve on-going contract dispute?
The good news for the Steelers is that they're already in a cash spending splurge amid the additions of names like Aaron Rodgers, Jonnu Smith, Jalen Ramsey, D.K. Metcalf, and Darius Slay to go along with the extension for T.J. Watt. Pittsburgh currently ranks 15th in the NFL in cash spending for the 2025 season — and is a few million more dollars owed to Heyward away from launching into the top-10. The Steelers don't rank in this stratosphere very often. They were last ranked in the top-10 in cash spending in 2019, when they were 7th among all teams in the NFL.
So a raise to Heyward is generally something that's more digestible now than it would be in past years because the Steelers are already out-spending their normal pace. How extreme is the spending trend in Pittsburgh? This would mark just the third season since 2015 that the Steelers have ranked in the top half of teams across the NFL.
From that perspective, what's a few million more dollars to one of your greats of this generation? The bad news for Pittsburgh is that Heyward is in the later stages of his career and the prospect of adding new years and new guarantees is unlikely considered an attractive one. So, too, is the idea of having to go through this process again next offseason — Heyward is under contract through the end 2026.
It is easy to understand why Heyward is looking for a raise. He ranks 36th in the NFL among defensive linemen in cash owed in 2025. Two players who came in this offseason, Jalen Ramsey and D.K. Metcalf, are making significantly more cash than he is. Heyward, incredibly, had one of his best career seasons in 2024 and played nearly 800 snaps in the regular season at 35 years of age. He's earned the same respect that T.J. Watt has, although the optics of a deal become complicated when considering Heyward just signed his most recent extension last offseason and that he's a player the team likely should be looking to go year by year with.
Pittsburgh is not only spending cash, they have cap space, too. And with no long-term quarterback contract on their books, the Steelers are well-equipped to sacrifice some of their short-term cap space to accommodate Heyward's ask and have all hands on deck for an aggressive push this season.
But there's a fine line to walk here.
If I were Steelers general manager Omar Khan, I would approach this discussion knowing that I can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. I've already broken precedent this offseason by trading for and extending D.K Metcalf and Jonnu Smith. Both players got new years and new money before playing a down with the Steelers. Jalen Ramsey's contract received an adjustment as well. If I've done all that for new players, I'm likely going to have to play ball with Heyward.
But I would be averse to adding new guarantees and new years alike. Heyward has already received his roster bonus for the 2025 season. It was $13.45 million paid in March. He's due another $12.95 million roster bonus in March of 2026, which is currently not guaranteed. Pittsburgh's best bet would be to try to accelerate that payment into 2025 between an additional roster bonus this fall plus incentive money to give Heyward the opportunity to earn the max value of what is left on his contract, and then terminate the final year of his current deal for 2026.
This would allow Heyward to see a cash raise this year, force him to earn the maximum of his current non-guarantees due in 2026 by reaching incentives on the field, and help the two parties avoid another difficult standoff next offseason. By moving his cash forward with partial guarantees and partial incentives before wiping out 2026, it would allow Heyward and the Steeles to assess his value in the winter and, potentially, have the rest of the league help dictate just how ambitious his market realistically should be next spring when he turns 37 years old.
What's the cash split? Off of his current $14.75 million total salary this season, Heyward ranks 36th among defensive lineman. If Pittsburgh is willing to take that number to $20.75 million in cash, it would rank Heyward 18th. If they were willing to go to $22.75 million, he'd rank 12th. That number feels right, especially given all the other money Heyward has watched the Steelers hand out this offseason. I'd aim for a resolution of between $20.75 million and $22.75 million in total cash owed (a $6-8 million raise) with the remaining balance of his 2026 roster bonus available to be earned through incentives in 2025 — giving him a max value this year of $27.7 million in cash before then hitting free agency after the season.
That mark would rank 7th among defensive lineman in 2025. For the incentives, Pittsburgh would have every right be choosy and ambitious if they're guaranteeing $8 million more up front. The Steelers have in excess of $36 million in cap space. They've shown an appetite and willingness to spend in 2025. If Heyward is willing to go as far as missing games, which he's suggested, Pittsburgh has poured too much into the 2025 season outlook to get shy now over a few more million. And this feels like the best way to bridge the gap.
This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Category: Football
