Do you agree with this take about T.J. Watt?
NFL analyst Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report believes Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt has the fifth-worst contract in the league.
The Steelers signed Watt to a three-year, $123 million contract in 2025, with $108 million guaranteed.
"The 31-year-old's sack numbers have plummeted from 19 in 2023 to 11.5 in 2024 to seven in 2025," Gagnon wrote. "This was his first relatively full non-All-Pro season since 2018, indicating that a decline is well underway. Even if the Steelers move on after the 2027 campaign, Watt will have cost the team $94 million in salary and dead-cap charges for just two seasons of work."
Watt turns 32 in October and has guaranteed salaries of $32 million in both 2026 and 2027.
A future Hall of Famer, Watt appeared in 14 games for the Steelers last season. He finished with seven sacks, 23 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 19 QB hits.
Watt has spent his entire NFL career in Pittsburgh. He enters next season with 115 sacks, 354 solo tackles, 136 tackles for loss and 244 QB hits. He's made eight Pro Bowls and four All-Pros and won the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
However, the Steelers are 0-5 in the playoffs in the Watt era. So even though Watt has put up incredible numbers, he hasn't helped Pittsburgh win a postseason game.
In Year 1 of the Mike McCarthy era, the Steelers face the Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans.
History tells us that the Steelers won't be a contender next season since Watt and the Pittsburgh franchise haven't had postseason success.
However, since next season will be Aaron Rodgers' last year in the NFL, maybe the football Gods will work a miracle for the four-time MVP.
Rodgers put up 3,322 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions last season. The future Hall of Famer completed 65.7% of his passes, but the Steelers lost to the Texans in the wild-card round of the 2026 playoffs at home.
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