T.J. Watt Summed Up Feelings on New Extension With Steelers in One Photo

After a long offseason of an uncertain future, Watt can finally celebrate.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt runs onto the field before a game.
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt runs onto the field before a game. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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The Pittsburgh Steelers and star edge rusher T.J. Watt agreed to a historic three-year, $123 million contract extension on Thursday, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

This news comes after months of uncertainty revolving Watt's future on the Steelers. Although the team made it clear they wanted to keep the linebacker on the squad, there seemed to be some hold-up as Watt skipped mandatory minicamp because of the contract dispute. In the end, though, it worked out in both of the sides' favors.

A couple months ago, Watt posted a picture of himself posing with a peace sign on his Instagram story, sparking a lot of question as to whether he would be leaving Pittsburgh. In somewhat of a response to that original controversial post, Watt posted a photo of him ecstatic and excited in a Steelers uniform to Instagram on Thursday. Although he didn't caption the photo, it's clear that he's happy with his new extension. A picture is worth a thousand words, as they say.

Watt will be remaining in the black and yellow for the foreseeable future.

The contract news came at a perfect time as the Steelers report to training camp on Wednesday. It was up in the air if Watt would sign an extension before then or not.

During the 2024 season, Watt notched 61 tackles, 11.5 sacks, six forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.


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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.