Goodbye T.J. Watt? Rooney family member says paying him would be “insane”

Things are getting awfully interesting in Pittsburgh. As if they haven’t been busy enough this offseason, the Steelers have maybe their biggest order of business to tend to but it seems like the team and T.J. Watt are drifting farther apart.

Rooney’s turning back on Watt?

T.J. Watt has been the heart and soul of the Steelers defense that has carried this team for the last half decade. He has won Defensive Player of the Year, led the league in sacks and was one of the main catalysts of a defense that led Pittsburgh to the playoffs in the last couple of years.

Now, the 31 year old pass rush, who is heading into the final year of his contract with the Steelers is pushing for a new deal, but the two sides seem to be at a stalemate. Watt wants to be paid like one of the biggest stars in the league, and he is aiming for somewhere in the ball park of Ja’Marr Chase’s $40,250,000 million a year.

Chase and the Bengals just broke the bank, making the star receiver the highest paid non-quarterback in league history and now the Steelers EDGE rusher is looking for his slice of the pie, but at least one of the Rooney family members isn’t too convinced. Patrick Rooney Jr. said it would be “insane to pay him anything right now. Absolutely insane.” Rooney Jr. said that during a the Palm Beach Kennel Club Picks podcast.

Garrett sets bar for defenders

The Rooney family has owned the the Steelers since the 20s, and have grown a reputation for taking care of their stars, and their coaches. Art Rooney Jr. and Art Rooney II are the President and the Vice President of the Steelers, but Patrick doesn’t have any shares or stake in the team, and therefore is not involved in the negotiation.

Watt is currently heading into the final year of his four-year, $112 million dollar deal, and is set to make $21,050,000 in the upcoming season. Watt is looking to nearly double that in the months leading up to preseason. Cleveland EDGE Myles Garrett just got a new deal with the Browns that is for four years and worth $160 million, which makes him the highest paid defensive player ever.

That will be the sort of number Watt is hoping to sign for, but if the two parties can’t work out a deal, there could be a messy holdout to come. There has been talk of a trade potentially playing out in Pittsburgh, but that would be a big hit to this Steelers defense that has been centered around Watt for so long. The Steelers stacking their chips for an “all-in” season, bringing in Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf, but a Super Bowl run would be much more difficult without one of the best pass rushers in the league lining up in black and yellow.