Steelers Now
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — At least the biggest nothing story of the 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers season had the decency to leave us just before the opener.
The Steelers and defensive captain Cam Heyward reached a deal on a modified contract on Saturday night that adds just over $3 million in potential in incentives to his potential earnings.
In the realm of the National Football League, $3 million is basically nothing — which is a fitting ending to a saga that never meant anything.
Heyward signed a bad contract with the Steelers in 2024. The team wanted him to take a pay cut, coming off an injury-hampered 2023 season. They refused to include incentives in the contract, and in order to avoid taking a pay-cut, he ended adding two years to his contract for basically no gain.
According to Heyward, he promised to come back and ask for more money if he returned to his pre-injury form. Heyward went out and dramatically out-performed that contract in last season, earning his fourth career first-team All-Pro nod.
He made a formal request in February, and nothing happened for months. At no point did the Steelers ever seriously consider significantly re-working Heyward’s contract.
Heyward began a half-hearted “hold-in” during training camp, but it was always clear that there was never any real teeth to his threat. Heyward took pretty much every snap the Steelers could have wanted him to take this offseason. No one within the organization took seriously his hinting that he might be willing to miss games over the dispute, and their actions show it clearly.
The Steelers waited until the very last moment to do anything at all, called Heyward’s obvious bluff, and then handed him the smallest possible piece of face-saving in order to return.
According to several team sources, there were zero hard feelings from the organization or the coaching staff toward Heyward for his stance. They understood where he was coming from, but they weren’t interested in re-doing a contact one year out. This was the best return Heyward could have hoped to gain.
The only negative to this getting wrapped up in this way before the 2025 season, is that the two sides have set themselves up for another fight in 2026 — when he’s scheduled to earn even less than this year
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Saunders: Cam Heyward Contract Drama Much Ado about Nothing
