The Pittsburgh Steelers have revised DL Cam Heyward’s contract, literally hours before the team’s regular season opener against the New York Jets. Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Heyward is receiving up to $3 million in incentives centered around Steelers’ postseason success.
“He gets more than $3M in incentives tied to playoffs and playoff wins for $18M max in a deal done by Michael Perrett of @PrioritySports. Oh & Heyward will play,” Rapoport tweeted Saturday night.
Per NFL.com’s article, Heyward’s incentives specifically amount to $3.2 million.
Heyward was fighting franchise precedent as the Steelers do not negotiate contracts with non-quarterbacks who have more than one year remaining on their current deal. This is a rare circumstance with Heyward being paid the 23rd highest average DT salary after an All-Pro season.
Pittsburgh’s contracts for non-quarterbacks almost never include incentives, a fact Heyward acknowledged with the media Friday. The Steelers seem to be making an exception here in order to get an agreement done with Heyward. The incentives are focused on the postseason and postseason wins. In 14 NFL seasons, Heyward has one career playoff win, excluding the team’s wins during 2016 when Heyward was on injured reserve.
Heyward had previously left open the chance of not playing in the regular season unless his contract was adjusted. Teammates and coaches expected him to play regardless but now, it’s official.
QB Aaron Rodgers’ contract included incentives and while his amounted to more total money, the Steelers could have a similar structure to Heyward’s now-incentive laden deal.
This deal is also one of the latest Pittsburgh has done. The team departed for the game around 3 PM/EST Saturday. Assuming the contract was finalized within the last hour, the Steelers have reached an agreement roughly 16 hours before kickoff. The rest of the structure of Heyward’s deal does not change and he remains signed through 2026. His base salary and guaranteed money also won’t increase.
When both sides agreed to the deal last year, Heyward told the team to expect him back at the negotiating table when he had an All-Pro season. He held up his end with arguably the best season for a DT last year. It’s hard to blame him for wanting more as he makes well below market value for his position.
Some of that was his fault as he opted for a minor victory last year coming off an injury and avoiding a pay cut. He could have bet on himself to cash in this year with an entirely new contract, but he chose not to.
The two sides have been talking since February, but it flew under the radar until the beginning of training camp when Heyward’s contract demands were made public. He staged a partial hold-in at camp with limited activity throughout, but did work more than other hold-ins around the league.
He returned to practice ahead of the final preseason game despite no reported progress in his negotiations. Now, the deal is done and Heyward and the Steelers are ready for the season to begin Sunday at 1 PM/EST against the New York Jets. Earlier this week, Heyward was voted team captain for the 11th-straight time. That ties him for OL Sam Davis for second-most in team history and only trails QB Ben Roethlisberger’s 13.
There’s been no word on if K Chris Boswell, also seeking a revised contract, had his contract adjusted. It would seem that deadline has come and gone but given Heyward’s last-second deal, perhaps Boswell receives the same structure.
