After an elongated period of negotiation between former Wisconsin Badger T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the NFL’s best LB’s earned the fruits of his labor.
Upon signing his new contract extension, Watt will earn $80 million guaranteed and a total of $112 million over four years with the Steelers. The new deal makes the Wisconsin native the highest-paid defensive player in football according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network.
Watt is a two-time NFL First-Team All-Pro selection, earning the honor in both 2019 and 2020. He also lead the NFL in sacks during the 2020 season. Watt was a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2017 following a tremendous 2016 season at Wisconsin where he totaled 11.5 sacks.
From NFL Now: #Steelers LB TJ Watt's deal was simple… once Pittsburgh agreed to break their long-held precedent. And so so much went into getting them to do it. In the end, $80M fully guaranteed over 3 years went a very long way. pic.twitter.com/Hc9eNBugnW
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 10, 2021