The Pittsburgh Steelers have a major concern with veteran edge rusher T.J. Watt as the team’s mandatory minicamp begins.
According to reports, Watt will not attend the Steelers’ mandatory minicamp, which begins on June 10 and runs through June 12. The seven-time Pro Bowler is holding out over his desire for a new contract.
Watt hasn’t been with the team during voluntary workouts, but a holdout isn’t a real holdout until the player misses mandatory portions of the offseason. With Watt not attending mandatory minicamp, his holdout is truly official.
Watt’s absence will incur fines, and a total of $104,768 to be exact. Watt is docked $17,462 for missing Day 1, $34,925 for Day 2, and $52,381 for Day 3.
Of course, if Watt can get the new contract he’s seeking, that will amount to pennies for him. Even with his current contract, that isn’t a life-changing amount of money, so don’t assume even losing six figures will get him to budge.
Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette previously reported that the two sides are expected to get something done before Week 1, but clearly Watt has no interest in doing anything until he agrees to a new deal.
As Watt has searched for a new contract, he’s seen guys like the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett and the Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby get massive extensions.
Garrett is now at the top of the mountain on a four-year, $160 million deal that has $124 million guaranteed and a $40 million AAV. Crosby landed a $106.5 million contract that pays him $35.5 million per.
At the very least, we’d suspect Watt is looking for an AAV in between Crosby and Garrett, but it’s also possible he wants top-of-the-market money.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette previously reported that in order to get the deal across the finish line, the Steelers will “likely” have to at least match the guaranteed money amount from Garrett’s contract.
We’d suspect Watt’s age (31 in October) is the biggest holdup in a new deal, but the Steelers may have to just grin and bear it and pay their best player because of how crucial he is to the team’s success.
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