There will be no “hold in” this summer for Cameron Heyward, who has agreed to a contract that will help push him further up the Pittsburgh Steelers’ record books.
Heyward and the Steelers on Tuesday came to an agreement on a restructured contract that runs through 2027, keeping the franchise’s longtime defensive captain aboard as he heads into his 16th NFL season.
The deal, confirmed by a league source, is worth $32.25 million and comes with $16.25 million fully guaranteed. In effect, it adds $18 million onto a deal that was set to expire after this coming season. Viewed in that lens, the $18 million tacked on for 2027 would be the highest in league history for any defensive player aged 37 or older.
A defensive tackle, Heyward turns 37 in May. Already the Steelers’ career leader in seasons played for the franchise by a defensive player, Heyward will move past Mike Webster into sole possession of second place on the Steelers’ career seasons played list with 16. Only Ben Roethlisberger (18) has played more seasons for the Steelers.
Roethlisberger (249) is the only player to appear in more games for the Steelers than Heyward’s 228. If Heyward stays healthy and plays out his contract, he could pass Roethlisberger as the all-time “Mr. Steeler” by early in the 2027 season.
And while a defensive lineman playing at 38 cannot be assumed, Heyward has proven to be more than just any defensive lineman. He was named second-team AP All-Pro last season — at age 36 — when he had nine tackles for loss, six batted-down passes, one forced fumble, 3 ½ sacks and 78 total tackles (38 solo).
Heyward did not miss a game in a regular season that followed a somewhat-contentious training camp in which he sat out several practices in a so-called “hold in” while publicly expressing frustration that he was playing for $14.75 million in compensation.
The Steelers, though, have a longstanding policy (for non-quarterbacks) of not renegotiating or extending contracts until a player is about to embark on the final season of an existing pact.
While Heyward kept up his threat that he might not play in the regular-season opener all the way up until the days before it was played, the Steelers essentially called his bluff and Heyward did not miss a snap. The team did, however, add some difficult-to-reach incentives into his deal for 2025 (none were met).
That the Steelers and one of their most recognizable players hammered out an extension at this early stage of the offseason avoids any awkwardness well in advance of training camp or spring workouts.
The 2023 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, Heyward has seven times been named to the Pro Bowl roster, three times a first-team All-Pro and twice a second-team All-Pro.
His 92 sacks rank second all-time for the Steelers behind teammate T.J. Watt. Heyward has missed only six games because of injury over the past nine seasons.
Heyward joins kicker Chris Boswell (2015) and Watt (2017) as the only current Steelers whose continuous tenure with the team dates into the previous decade (backup quarterback Mason Rudolph first joined the team in 2018 but spent 2024 with the Tennessee Titans).
But in joining the Steelers months after their most recent Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 2010 season, Heyward has been on the field for only one playoff victory. But via his gregarious nature and charitable endeavors as much as for his stellar play, Heyward has cultivated a reputation as one of the franchise’s all-time greats.
His role on the current Steelers is a respected leader and locker-room voice, but that should not diminish his productive, durable and steady play. Last season, Heyward played more snaps than any defensive tackle in the NFL and more than all but three defensive players on his team.
Pro Football Focus grades tabbed Heyward as the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL in 2025.
This marks the fourth contract extension for Heyward since he was entering the final season of his rookie contract signed after being the Steelers’ first-round pick in 2011. His other extensions were for six years and $59.25 million in 2015, five years and $75.1 million in 2020 and three years for $45 million in 2023.
