Amid a “hold-in”, prominent Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward has hinted at his willingness to miss regular season games if his contract extension signed in 2024 is not renegotiated.
These statements came in his first public comments since Heyward’s contract situation was reported. Heyward, who was selected by the Steelers with the 31st pick in 2011, revealed that his formal request to renegotiate his contract dates back to February. He decided to initiate a “hold-in” and not participate in training camp practices due, in part, to the state of the negotiations.There are definitely options that could reflect that.
Cameron Heyward
The 36-year-old player signed a two-year, $29 million extension with the Steelers in September 2024, keeping him under contract through the 2026 season. According to OverTheCap.com, the average annual value of his $14.5 million contract ranks him 23rd among interior defensive linemen. As part of the 2024 agreement, Heyward received a guaranteed bonus of $13.45 million for 2025, bringing his total compensation for the year to $14.75 million. Heyward is scheduled to earn a bonus of $12.95 million on the fifth day of the league year in 2026 if he remains on the roster. Heyward did not make his specific requests public, but when asked if he would like to restructure next year’s bonus into guarantees for the 2025 season, Heyward said it’s something “similar” to what he’s thinking.I seek to be valued. I know what I bring to this team and what I am capable of on and off the field, so it’s difficult for me, after the year I had, to really justify playing with the number I’m playing with.
Cameron Heyward
Heyward, who is coming off an injury that cut short his 2023 season, said he was asked to take a pay cut as part of the 2024 extension. Heyward was scheduled to earn a base salary of $16 million in 2024. By accepting the extension, he earned $3.4 million less in 2024: $12.6 million with a base salary of $1.3 million and a signing bonus of $11.3 million.It’s not unprecedented.
Cameron Heyward
Heyward has continued to converse with General Manager Omar Khan, team president and owner Art Rooney II, and coach Mike Tomlin.In my opinion, they could have cut me last year. The way they approached me, they asked me to take a pay cut, and we ended up closing a deal. But when I look at the market, and I look at what I’ve done, it’s hard to really understand playing with a number where I’m not even halfway to what the rest of the market is.
Cameron Heyward
