Last summer the Pittsburgh Steelers and TJ Watt negotiated for months as it came down to the final days before the start of the 2021 regular season before they struck a deal. It took lots of patience on both sides of the table as Watt's agent negotiated the first ever deal from the Steelers with guaranteed money outside of the signing bonus. The Steelers practice of only offering guaranteed money in the signing bonus is what caused the major riff between the organization and Le'Veon Bell. Bell eventually opted to ruin his career and head to the New York Jets because he received more guaranteed money.
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Now it appears history will happen for the second straight off-season in a row, as super star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will continue to break the Steelers previous trend. According to ESPN's senior NFL writer Jeremy Fowler the two sides will begin negotiations soon and the expectation is that Fitzpatrick will become the highest paid safety in the NFL. And with that contract will come guarenteed money like the $80 million that Watt received last year.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Pittsburgh SteelersThe Steelers have shown that first-round picks who become stars while on their roster will usually get rewarded a year out from free agency. T.J. Watt, Cam Heyward and David DeCastro are among those who got extended before Week 1 of their fifth-year option season.
Fitzpatrick, one of the game's top safeties, now falls into that category. But he also knows the Steelers operate on their own time, which means we should look ahead to sometime between July and the September kickoff. "They won't be rushed into a deal," a source said. Under recently retired GM Kevin Colbert, the Steelers also did not negotiate in-season.
Fitzpatrick will likely be coming for Jamal Adams' market-setting $17.5 million per year. He's in the top five among safeties in interceptions since 2019 (11) and has 36 career pass deflections and two first-team All-Pro berths.
What further helps Fitzpatrick: The Steelers relented on their guarantee structures with Watt's deal last year. Old Pittsburgh deals featured no guarantees beyond the signing bonus, but Watt has $80 million in guaranteed money on his four-year, $112 million deal.
As Fowler states Jamaal Adams is currently the highest paid safety in the NFL at $17.5 million per year, next is Harrison Smith at $16 million per year. After that it's Justin Simmons at $15.25 million, and Budda Baker at $14.75 million.
A contract in the five-year $90 million dollar range would make Fitzpatrick the highest paid safety, and one of the highest paid defensive players in the NFL. This would just add more expense to the leagues highest paid defense in the NFL.
After coming over from the Miami Dolphins in a rare in-season trade in 2019 Fitzpatrick has been nothing short of elite. He was named All-Pro in 2019, and 2020 and selected to the Pro Bowl in both of those years. Last year Fitzpatrick's big plays faded, but a lot of that should be attributed to the fact that he spent a lot of time trying to cover up for the several deficiencies they had collectively as a Defense.
Fitzpatrick was often forced to play near the line of scrimmage to help stop the run. In the passing games teams would often throw away from Fitzpatrick not allowing him to change games. Fitzpatrick led the Steelers in tackles last season amassing a career high 124 tackles and 2 interceptions.
