T.J. Watt wants to remain with the Steelers, and the Steelers want to keep Watt. But Watt, presumably, wants to be the highest-paid defensive player in football, and the Browns screwed that all up. In order to stave off Myles Garrett’s threats, they gave him a $40 million APY contract. That blew up the market scale, topping the next-highest contract by $4.5 million.
There is reason to believe that the Steelers are reluctant to go that high, whether for Watt or anyone else. It’s a lot of money to pay one player, especially when that player doesn’t throw the football.