PITTSBURGH — There were some Steelers fans who were surprised and disappointed Monday when star defensive end J.J. Watt signed with the Cardinals. Watt made his announcement and chose the Cardinals over lucrative offers from the Browns, Packers and Titans, among a few other teams.
The contract is worth $31 million over two years and includes $23 million in fully guaranteed money. That's an average of $15.5 million a year, which was way above anything the Steelers could have offered Watt.
That last part is only relevant because there apparently was some pipe dream being held by a segment of the Steelers fan base that he would sign with their favorite team. The narrative on that was Watt was willing to forgo a boatload of money and sign for an extremely cap-friendly deal with the Steelers because he wanted to play on the same team as his brothers T.J. and Derek.
And yes, as incredible as it may seem in 2021 — 25 years after the hit film "Jerry Maguire" made the saying "Show me the money!" a thing — there are still people who haven't figured this out, so let me help them: Athletes play their respective sports first and foremost to get paid and get paid in full.
This is a concept that will probably help fans who are confused when one of their favorite players signs with some other team as the NFL's free-agency period begins to heat up. NFL players like to, and should like to, get paid for their services and what they are worth. And they also understand they have a small window to make as much as they can to set themselves and their family up for life.
I always snicker at these takes about the love of the game and that these guys would play these sports for free. I mean, people who say those things have either not been paying attention or have seen movies like "Field of Dreams" too many times.
There was zero chance that J.J. Watt was going to sign with the Steelers for anything significantly less than his value just to play with his brothers. He loves his brothers, but love of his brothers isn't going to pay his bills and help him make a comfortable life for his kids and their kids.
Maybe if the Steelers were able to offer Watt something close to what he took from the Cardinals, the lure of playing with his brothers would come into play, but that wasn't the case. The Cardinals' offer is way more than the Steelers could even dream of offering him, and so it was a moot point.
And Watt is 31 years old, and that means he still has a few years of maximum earning power and he, like every athlete, needs to take advantage of that. If he were 39 and playing out the string, it may be a different story and that's when you start to see players do things like chase rings as opposed to taking the best offer that comes their way.
This concept will be important to remember in coming weeks with respect to players like Bud Dupree and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Maybe the Steelers are able to retain them, but it isn't likely, especially since both are expected to get big contracts on the open market.
Smith-Schuster said he wants to finish his career as a Steeler. He said he loves it in Pittsburgh, loves the fans and loves the organization and how he is treated. He is immensely popular among the fan base and has done some really big things to help the Steelers win over the last four seasons.
All of that is wonderful, but this is the contract Smith-Schuster really has to try and cash in on. He is just entering his prime and it is his turn to get paid in full. Some team is going to offer him a contract that is probably a lot more than the Steelers will. There won't be a "hometown discount."
That doesn't make him greedy. It makes him smart and a good businessman. The same can be said of Dupree, who some seem to think will sign a small deal for one year with the Steelers to prove he is 100% healthy.
Why would Dupree do that? Some team is going to offer him a multi-year deal worth a lot of money with a good chunk guaranteed, so why would he agree to sign with the Steelers for peanuts (relatively speaking) and only have one year of security?
Athletes aren't as emotionally tied to their teams as fans are because they have to make their money while they are healthy, and that's probably where the disconnect comes. They aren't looking at the uniform color; they are looking at the color green and that is what, in large part, will guide every one of their decisions.
Remember that the next time one of these big-name free agents is on the market and you think your favorite team may have some edge that isn't "can offer him the most money."
