Steelers’ Heyward hints at sitting out into season over contract

LATROBE, Pa. — Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward, amid a hold-in, strongly suggested Monday he would be willing to miss regular-season games as he seeks to renegotiate a contract extension signed in 2024.

“There are definitely options out there that could reflect that,” he said in his first public comments since ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Heyward’s hold-in and contract request last week.

He added: “My goal is to be out here, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’ve had to be honest with myself to be ready for every option. And has it gone the way I wanted to go? No. If it did, I would be out there playing and practicing, but I’d like to put this in the rearview mirror and worry about ball and worry about [the] New York Jets [in] Week 1.

Heyward, drafted No. 31 by the Steelers in 2011, said his formal request to renegotiate his contract dates back to February. He decided to begin holding in and not participating in camp practices late last week partly because of the state of negotiations.

“I’m looking to be valued. … I know what I bring to this team and what I’m capable of on and off the field, so it’s hard for me, after the year I’ve had, to really justify playing at the number I’m playing at.”

Cameron Heyward

“Can’t say I’m not disappointed in where we’re at,” he said. “I think it’s pretty simple with how it could be handled. There’s been reporting about how it could be done, but I just wish I could just be out there not having to worry about this.”

Heyward, 36, signed a two-year, $29 million extension with the Steelers in September 2024, putting him under contract through the 2026 season. According to OverTheCap.com, his contract’s $14.5 million average annual value is ranked 23rd for interior defensive linemen.

“I’m looking to be valued,” Heyward said. “… I know what I bring to this team and what I’m capable of on and off the field, so it’s hard for me, after the year I’ve had, to really justify playing at the number I’m playing at.

“I understand. I signed a contract last year, but to be completely honest with you, when I signed that, I told him when I have an All-Pro year expecting me to come back and you can look at the contract and see what it was. But I think everybody kind of giggled a little bit, but in my head, I used it as motivation to go out there and prove it.”

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Heyward did just that, earning first-team All-Pro honors for a year in which he played in all 17 regular-season games and collected eight sacks, 20 quarterback hits and 71 combined tackles. He was dominant at the line of scrimmage, too, leading all defensive linemen with 11 passes defended.

As part of the 2024 deal, Heyward received a $13.45 million guaranteed roster bonus for 2025 to bring his total compensation for the year to $14.75 million. Heyward is set to earn a $12.95 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year in 2026 if he remains on the roster. Heyward’s contract doesn’t have any guaranteed money beyond this season.

Heyward didn’t make his specific requests public, but when asked if he would like to restructure next year’s bonus into guarantees for the 2025 season, Heyward said that’s something “similar” to what he’s thinking about.

“It’s not unprecedented,” he said. “There’s been instances where it’s happened before, and it makes me kind of weary just because it’s not unprecedented, and I think there’s an easier way to get this done to still respect the Steelers and what they do and having tiers out of a contract, but we’ll see.”

Coming off an injury that shortened his 2023 season, Heyward said he was asked to take a pay cut as part of the 2024 extension. Heyward had been scheduled to make a $16 million base salary in 2024. By agreeing to the extension, he made $3.4 million less in 2024 — $12.6 million with a $1.3 million base salary and an $11.3 million signing bonus.

“In my eyes when I look at it, they could have cut me last year,” he said. “The way I was approached, I was asked to take a pay cut, and we ended up getting a deal done. But when I look at the market, and I look at what I’ve done, it’s hard to really wrap my head around playing at a number where I’m not even half of what the rest of the market is.”

Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones is at the top of the interior defensive line market, making an average of $31.75 million per year with $95 million guaranteed. Earlier this month, Denver Broncos defensive lineman Zach Allen, who turns 28 this month, signed a four-year, $102 million contract with $69.5 million guaranteed and an average value of $25.5 million.

Heyward said he has continued to have conversations with general manager Omar Khan, team president and owner Art Rooney II, and coach Mike Tomlin. After Monday’s practice, Tomlin dismissed concerns about Heyward’s future availability, saying, “not as I sit here today, no.”

“It’s just a component of big business,” Tomlin said of Heyward’s situation. “It’s not exclusive to us or to Cam. It’s going on in a lot of locations. The great thing about it is we’ve had good relations with Cam since he’s been here. He’s been a heck of a Steeler. We communicate formally and informally. I imagine it’ll remain the same, and we’ll find a way to see our way through these things.”