Cam Heyward will play in season opener after getting revised contract with Steelers

No player has ever appeared in 15 consecutive season-opening games for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thanks to a revised contract agreed to Saturday, Cameron Heyward will make that happen Sunday.

Heyward accepted a deal that included incentives that could bump his pay by up to $3 million for this season, according to multiple national reports. The NFL Network cited Heyward’s agent, Michael Perrett, in reporting the extra money paid would be “tied to playoffs and playoff wins.”

The resolution avoids the almost unthinkable possibility of the Steelers’ 11th-year defensive captain sitting out games. Heyward was named AP NFL All-Pro defensive tackle last season after he agreed to an extension that ran through the 2026 season. Though Heyward’s stance is that his production in 2024 meant he was underpaid, the Steelers have a longstanding policy of refusing to renegotiate or extend a contract until there is fewer than one year remaining on it.

Heyward conducted a “hold-in” — sitting out team drills at practice — from the middle to late portion of training camp, and as recently as Friday would not commit to suiting up against the Jets.

Named a defensive captain by vote of his peers Monday, Heyward accepted a $13.45 million roster bonus in March and was scheduled to earn the league minimum in base salary — $72,222 per week – during the season. Heyward was paid $16 million in 2024 on the terms of the contract he signed days before last year’s opener.

Though Heyward had returned to practice after the preseason ended, he twice publicly in recent days — once on his own podcast and once Friday in his first comments to media in three weeks — said, “We’ll see,” when asked if he would be playing Sunday.

“I have to make a decision for my family,” Heyward said Friday after he would not commit to playing against the Jets. “This is a business. I cannot play this game forever. And just like I’m maximizing on the field, I want to be maximized outside of it, and I want to be taken care of that way.

“It’s not being greedy, it’s just the way this game is. It’s ‘not for long,’ N-F-L. So, I would tell every guy, maximize your opportunities.”

Heyward, 36, is a four-time first-team All-Pro and seven times has been named to the Pro Bowl roster. He was the 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year. After Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff, Heyward will have played as many seasons for the Steelers as any player in franchise history except for Ben Roethlisberger.