Steelers exercise 5th-year option on T.J. Watt's contract

Chris Adamski
Tuesday, April 28, 2020 2:41 p.m. | Tuesday, April 28, 2020 2:41 p.m.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt had a career-high 14½ sacks last season.

In a move that surprised no one, the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday announced they are picking up the fifth-year option on outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

A first-round pick in 2017, Watt’s standard entry-level contract was for four years and $9.3 million. Under the collective bargaining agreement, teams had until May 4 to exercise his fifth-year option.

The salary is the average of the third- through 25th-highest-paid veterans at their position. Last year, under a slightly different formula, a 2016 first-round pick linebacker had his firth-year option set at $9,501,000.

The CBA also allows teams to negotiate long-term extensions with former first-round picks, but Steelers team policy always has been to work out extensions before the final year of a contract. Quarterbacks have been the exception.

Watt finished third in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting last season. He also was voted Steelers MVP by teammates.

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Watt had a career-high 14½ sacks last season in addition to two interceptions, eight passes defensed, eight forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.

Watt was the first player since 2008 to have at least 14½ sacks, 36 quarterback hits, eight forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries in a season. He also was the seventh player since sacks became an official statistic in 1982 to record at least 14 sacks and four fumble recoveries and the only one in that group to have two interceptions.

Watt has 34 ½ sacks in 63 NFL games. He has missed only one game since the Steelers took him 30th overall three years ago.

The fifth-year option system was put into place during the 2011 CBA. Of the Steelers’ seven first-round picks since then, Watt is the fifth to have his fifth-year option exercised. The exceptions were Jarvis Jones and Artie Burns.

The option is guaranteed for injury only. It becomes fully guaranteed if Watt is still on the roster for the start of the 2021 league year next March.

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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.