PITTSBURGH — In September 2020, just before the start of the regular season, the Steelers came to terms with Cam Heyward on a new contract. The deal, which averages more than $16 million a season, was the richest contract in NFL history for a player over 30.
A year later, the Steelers made T.J. Watt the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. The Steelers committed $80 million in guaranteed money as part of the four-year deal worth more than $112 million. Then this summer, Minkah Fitzpatrick became the league's highest-paid safety when the Steelers signed him to a four-year contract totaling more than $73 million.
That's $250 million for the star trio, but they're also paying defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and linebacker Myles Jack $8 million per year. Add it all up, and the Steelers are the NFL's highest-paid defense this year with more than $100 million committed to their defenders.
"I'm not looking at it like it's the pressure of being the highest-paid defense," Heyward said. "I look at it like it's the pressure of being the Steelers defense. We have to go out there and perform, and when we don't, that weighs more on us than anything."
The major commitments are part of the Steelers' team-building philosophy: Draft or otherwise acquire top-caliber players, develop them and then pay them once they reach All-Pro status.
Through the first 10 games this season, the Steelers aren't getting bang for their buck. They are last in the league in pass defense, 28th in the league in total defense and 26th in points allowed. This star-studded unit has given up 30 points or more in three of their past six games.
"Regardless of how much these guys are getting paid, they have a lot of pride as football players," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. "They've earned the money, but they want to play well. They could care less about, 'Hey I'm making this much I have to play well.' No, they want to play well because they love the game. We're just not making the plays we need to."
A smart investment?
In a league where the rules are designed to encourage higher-scoring games, it can be a roll of the dice to spend a lot on your defense.
The Steelers are not alone when it comes to allocating big dollars to defensive players. Other teams have invested heavily in their defenses and, like the Steelers, are struggling this season.
Of the NFL's top 10 highest-paid defenders, only two play for winning teams. Watt was surpassed this summer as the league's highest-paid defender when the Rams rewarded Aaron Donald with a deal that pays him an average annual salary of almost $32 million.
The defending Super Bowl-champion Rams are 3-7. They're also paying cornerback Jalen Ramsey an average annual salary of $20 million a season.
According to spotrac.com, Donald and Ramsey together eat up 24% of the Rams' salary cap for the 2022 season. For the Steelers, Watt, Heyward and Fitzpatrick eat up 24% of the cap.
One reason the Steelers can afford to spend so much money on their defense is because they have a quarterback on a rookie contract. The Steelers control Kenny Pickett's right for five years, and they have a fixed cost for his services during that time.
Many teams in recent years have taken advantage of having a quarterback on a rookie deal and won Super Bowls.
"The advantages of having a rookie quarterback on your team is you can fill out a lot of other positions," Heyward said. "I think there are so many different ways to win. You have to be willing to find different ways to do it. When you're not paying your quarterback as much you have to be willing to pay other guys, we have to be able to perform at a high level."
In addition to the Steelers and Rams, the Colts, Jaguars and Packers also are among the top 10 teams in the league in defensive spending. Those five teams have a combined record of 17-33-1. The combined record for teams in the top 10 on defensive spending is 48-52-1.
Conversely, the top 10 teams in offensive spending for 2022 are a combined 61-39, with eight of those teams currently in playoff position.
During the past decade, the NFL's highest-paid defense hasn't won a Super Bowl and the majority of them missed the playoffs.
The trickle-down effect
For some teams, the issue is signing players to bad contracts. Many of these signings take place in free agency, when general managers overvalue a player's worth to the team.
For the Steelers, Watt, Heyward and Fitzpatrick continue to play at a high level, but there is a trickle-down effect on the rest of the roster. There is only so much money to go around, and the Steelers can't spend a lot on other positions because they have so much money tied up in their top trio.
Their highest-paid cornerback is Cam Sutton, who is in the final year of deal that pays him $4.5 million per season. Ahkello Witherspoon and Levi Wallace make $4 million a year, and Arthur Maulet, who has played a lot of snaps in the slot this season, makes a little over $1 million.
The other nine defensive backs on the 53-man roster combined barely make what Fitzpatrick does in a season. The same is true for Heyward and the defensive linemen, and the other three outside linebackers don't come close to making what Watt does when their salaries are tallied.
When Watt missed two months with pectoral and knee injuries, the pass rush slowed and the middle-class corners had some of their warts exposed. They had to cover longer and didn't hold up well.
Even with Watt back in the lineup, the Steelers are coming off a game in which they gave up 37 points and 408 yards to the Bengals. It was the fourth time this season they gave up more than 400 yards in a game.
"We know the types of guys we have in our room," outside linebacker Alex Highsmith said. "We're the highest-paid defense in the league for a reason. We have the guys who are able to wreck games. So we just have to execute better, get back to playing Steelers defense."
