Former NFL agent Joel Corry did not hold back on Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward, who’s seeking a contract restructure after receiving a new deal last year. He thinks Heyward made a mistake by not betting on himself in 2024.
“Cam Heyward is trying to have it both ways. If Heyward was so sure he would have an All-Pro 2024 season as a 35 year old, he should have played out his contract instead of signing a 2-year extension in September 2024 that averages $1.9M per year less than his 2020 extension,” Corry wrote on X.
Cam Heyward is trying to have it both ways. If Heyward was so sure he would have an All-Pro 2024 season as a 35 year old, he should have played out his contract instead of signing a 2-year extension in September 2024 that averages $1.9M per year less than his 2020 extension. https://t.co/AZqWHm4M8K
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) August 12, 2025
Former Steelers executive and Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley also ripped Heyward and his agents.
“This is an abject failure by Cam Heyward and his team [agents],” Whaley said on 93.7 The Fan.
Adam Schefter revealed on Tuesday’s ESPN NFL Live that neither the Pittsburgh Steelers or Cam Heyward have budged in contract negotiations. The two sides are at a stalemate.
The two sides have not had very many discussions about it, and the Steelers have not had a huge appetite to reward him right now,” Schefter said.
Heyward said he’s willing to miss games in the 2025 season, if that’s what it takes to get the contract modification he’s seeking from the team.
Heyward, speaking to the media at St. Vincent College on Monday for the first time since his hold-in was reported, said that he told the team last year when he took a team-friendly offer that he would be back asking for more money if he had another All-Pro season.
Heyward did just that, earning his fourth All-Pro nod at the age of 35 last year, and said that he first approached the Steelers back in February about adjusting his contract.
“I’m looking for my contract to be addressed,” he said. “Honestly, I’m looking to be valued. … I know what I bring to this team, what I’m capable of on and off the field. It’s hard for me, after the year I had, to really justify playing at the number I’m playing at.”
Heyward signed a two-year, $29 million contract extension with the team last year that paid him a $14.7 million signing bonus, but guaranteed only that and his 2024 salary, which was $1.3 million.
He was paid a $13.45 million roster bonus this March, but is owed only another $1.3 million this season for a total of $14.75 million in cash over 2025. He is also scheduled to earn a $12.95 million roster bonus in 2026, with a $1.3 million base salary.
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