Steelers Now
The Cam Heyward contract saga is over. The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman and Mike Tomlin’s team found a resolution on Saturday night, essentially at the buzzer, before their regular-season opener on the road against the New York Jets.
“A deadline deal: Steelers and team captain Cam Heyward reached an agreement tonight on a revised deal that will add over $3 million in incentives this year and allows him to earn up to $18 million this season, per source,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter wrote Saturday night on X. “Heyward will play Sunday vs. the Jets.”
The sweeteners are dependent upon the Steelers’ team success. Pittsburgh is “adding $3.2 million in incentives tied to playoffs and playoff wins,” fellow league insider Tom Pelissero said. Heyward had previously left his availability for the game against the Jets up in the air.
He said on Friday that the Steelers didn’t give him the chance for incentives when he initially signed his two-year, $29 million extension before last season.
“Not a lot of players have gotten incentives over here,” Heyward said Friday after practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “A lot of it has stemmed from just quarterbacks. There’s different ways to handle the situation. I’m all for proving it. I’m not running away from it. My career has always been about proving it.”
The Steelers are historically against negotiating contracts during the season. Heyward wasn’t sure something was going to get done before Sunday.
“Just going off of precedent, it’s never been something where they like to touch contracts in-season, and that’s the assumption that I’ve always gone off,” Heyward said. “If something’s different, so be it. But I don’t make those calls.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: BREAKING: Steelers, Cam Heyward Reach Last-Minute Contract Deal
