In case you missed it, early Wednesday afternoon, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the signing of Minkah Fitzpatrick to a contract extension that makes him the highest paid safety in the league and will keep him with the team through the 2026 season.
Seattle Times
Getting an extension done for Fitzpatrick was obviously the number 1 task for newly crowned general manager, Omar Khan, and all of Steeler Nation is ecstatic to see it got done much earlier than most expected.
Khan's first major move as the team's GM is one that will have him on Steeler Nation's good side, but now it is time he turns all his focus to extending the team's #1 wide receiver, Diontae Johnson.
Johnson has been a hot topic throughout several periods of the off-season, as there has been speculation by some that he is frustrated with his contract and the lack of a contract extension. This speculation began with Mark Kaboly of The Athletic putting out an article on the Steelers' OTAs, and stating the following about Johnson:
Johnson is unhappy with his current contract situation and trying to send a message through his lack of attendance. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and he knows if an extension isn’t agreed upon by the Sept. 11 opener, he will likely play the season without any security of a long-term deal as he heads into free agency.
After this report by Kaboly, Johnson took to his Twitter account and refuted the report, stating that he has said no such thing.
😴 Ain say nun… LOL
— Diontae Johnson (@Juiceup__3) May 28, 2022
During the second week of the team's voluntary OTAs, and I'd like to emphasize the term voluntary, Johnson was in attendance. In addition to getting in work with his teammates and his new quarterbacks, he was also meeting head coach Mike Tomlin's expectation as a leader. Tomlin stated that Johnson isn't much of a talker, but is "more of a doer" which gives the young guys "visual examples" of how to do things on the field.
With all of the so-called "drama" appearing to be in the rear view mirror for Johnson, there is very little that should hold up the Steelers and Khan from attempting to reach an agreement with the fourth-year wide receiver.
In the past, the team has been very hesitant to give out guaranteed money in contracts outside of a player's signing bonus, which has made negotiations difficult at times in the past on some individual cases. However, with them breaking that mold with the extensions they gave to both Fitzpatrick and TJ Watt, one would expect that not to be a hold up in contract talks with Johnson.
Diontae Johnson at Steelers' practice in 2021 at Heinz Field - Credit: @JSKO_PHOTO on Twitter
The overall value of what Johnson's contract should and will be is still very much up for debate. This off-season, several teams went wild with contracts that were given out to wide receivers, which likely means the $15 million per season that Johnson was rumored to be targeting back in February would be a pipe dream for the Steelers now.
Depending on if Johnson and the Steelers want to go for a long-term four or five year deal, or a shorter two or three year deal, there are some recent examples of how the deal could be structured.
Just recently the Las Vegas Raiders signed Hunter Renfrow to a two-year extension worth a total of $32 million, or about $16 million per season, with $21 million guaranteed at signing. That could be a solid starting point for the Steelers on a short-term deal, but the per season value would likely climb up to around $18-$19 million per year due to Johnson being the better receiver.
An example of a longer term contract that the Steelers could use as reference is one I started this article talking about, and that is the contract the team signed Fitzpatrick to. Now, Fitzpatrick is already one of the top players at his position while Johnson is still on his ascent, but the fact is wide receiver contracts cost more than safeties, which means the per season price of these contracts could end up very similar, and Johnson's could even be slightly higher.
Fitzpatrick received around $18.4 million per season over the four new years on his deal, and if the Steelers decided to go that route with Johnson, I doubt you'd have many members of Steeler Nation complaining.
With the extension of Fitzpatrick, the team accomplished their biggest task after the draft this summer, and now the team should do the same with Johnson. He is their unquestioned #1 wide receiver, and on a team that will have a brand new quarterback under center Week 1, they need their primary target firing on all cylinders to get the Steelers offense on track.
Let us know in the comment section below if you think the Steelers should extend Johnson, and what you think his contract could look like!
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