T.J. Watt went from underpaid relative to his peers at edge rusher to the highest-paid defender in NFL history last week, signing a three-year, $123 million extension that will keep him in the black and gold through 2028.

But was it the right move for the Steelers?

How would you grade T.J. Watt’s Steelers extension?

My take is it’s a win for both sides.

From the Steelers’ point of view, the Watt extension had to get done. The team’s entire offseason strategy would make no sense if they didn’t. Watt is an integral part of Pittsburgh’s winning chances in the present, and there’s every reason to expect he’ll continue to be a quality contributor in future iterations of the team.

The deal was expensive, of course — that’s why Watt’s also a big winner. He got $108 million guaranteed on the wrong side of 30!

But the Steelers still have over $30 million in cap space this season and over $45 million next year — plus, no major pending free agents or an expected franchise quarterback cap hit. The team can afford the extension, no problem.

Plus, it only extends Watt through 2028 with an out of just $10 million in dead money ahead of the 2028 season. Even if the deal does go awry, it’s not a death sentence to Pittsburgh’s finances.

Is it an “A” grade? I’d probably leave that distinction to better values for younger players. But you can’t dock the Steelers points, either: This is the price of doing business in the NFL, and the deal had to get done. I’d give it a strong “B+”.

How would you grade the Watt extension? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!