T.J. Watt appears unhappy with his contract situation and is letting it be known.
The Pittsburgh Steelers star linebacker took to social media Wednesday and posted a cryptic photo of him holding a peace sign. Multiple NFL insiders believe it was a product of Watt’s ongoing contract negotiations with the Steelers.
Watt is entering the final year of his current contract, and there’s a valid argument he’s underpaid at his $21 million base salary.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport offered a “guess” as to what’s transpiring, pointing to the reasoning for past cryptic posts.
“Generally, when a player makes a social media post it forces us to talk about it on TV, like we’re doing right now, and it is because contract negotiations are not going as well as anybody had hoped,” Rapoport said on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on Thursday morning. “So I think we can safely say the contract talks between T.J. Watt and the Steelers are not off to a ripping start.”
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Steelers insider Mark Kaboly echoed those sentiments regarding the contract negotiations.
“After talking to people, I’d keep an eye on this #Steelers T.J. Watt contract situation moving forward a little more closely,” Kaboly wrote on X. “It doesn’t appear that the IG picture (below) he posted yesterday was just by chance. I’d imagine an extension is still going to eventually get done, but the price tag just might be a tad bit higher than some anticipated.”
A four-time First Team All-Pro and 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, Watt is one of the true game-changing players in the NFL. And with Myles Garrett recently signing for $40 million annually and Micah Parsons nearing an extension of his own, it’s no surprise Watt dug his heels in this offseason.
Featured image via Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images