Pittsburgh Steelers, Cam Heyward agree to three-year, $45M contract

Cam Heyward is getting a massive contract extension from the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the star defensive lineman has agreed to a three-year, $45 million deal with $29 million in new money and $16 million fully guaranteed.
Heyward is now under contract through the 2026 season. He was entering the final year of his old deal and was set to make $16 million. With the signing, Heyward can retire as a member of the Steelers, the team that drafted him in 2011.
It was no secret that Heyward wanted a new contract. The former Ohio State star held out of voluntary workouts and OTAs in the spring before returning in June. The Athletic reported earlier this summer that the Steelers wanted to get a new contract done before the season-opening game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sept. 8.
Cam Heyward says Steelers need ‘my leadership’
“I’m just going to focus on being the best player I can be and control what I can control and being locked into this team,” Heyward told reporters at the start of training camp in July. “I’ll keep saying it. This team needs my leadership, my production, and I look forward to doing it.
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“I just like being out here with the guys, being out here with a focus on trying to get better. I ask the dumbest questions in the room, but it’s more to just remind myself and then educate others.”
In January, Heyward, 35 talked about, playing more seasons. “Of course, I want to play, in my mind, I want to play more than just one more season,” the Atlanta native said. “I’ve just got to get healthy first. We talk about coming back from injury, I was told at the time it was a 12-week process, and we came back in six weeks. I fought the doctors every week. … I just wanted to put my hand in that pile. But the flip side of that is I put my body through a lot of pain this year. It was getting me to the stadium and go from there, but I can’t be doing that year in and year out.”
Heyward has put together a stellar career with the Steelers. He has been named to the Pro Bowl six times, selected to the All-Pro Team four times and won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award last year.