Five pass-rushers who will make bank because of Myles Garrett deal

TJ Watt

TJ Watt has a while to go before he hits the open free agency market, but the Steelers should start thinking about his extension now. The Browns getting a deal done with Garrett before Watt definitely hurts the Steelers’ leverage to try to get Watt on a team-friendly deal.

Watt is another one of those pass-rushers like Matt Judon who shouldn’t be making more than Garrett. However, the longer the Steelers wait, the more likely it is another one of these guys on this list gets paid, raising TJ Watt’s value.

There’s a pretty good argument to be made by TJ Watt’s camp to get himself 25 million dollars per year, especially now that Myles Garrett is making that value. If the Steelers allow this extension to go undone until next season, I highly doubt TJ Watt will sign for any less. He has statistically been better than Myles Garrett in the sack category, and also has an All-Pro team to his name.

As a Browns fan, you hate to see praise for Steelers players, but this dude is the real deal. Like Myles Garrett, his contract is going to be one that probably resets the pass-rusher market, especially if he waits another season before signing his extension.

Myles Garrett is the better overall player, but that’s not how contracts work in the NFL. As time goes on and teams see more revenue, cap space increases. As cap space increases, players can legitimately demand more money than some of their fellow players who signed big deals before them. TJ Watt just saw his potential payout increase at least five million dollars from this Myles Garrett extension.