Cam Heyward wants a new deal

[Fiji Mariner]

I wish I could get fully guaranteed pay no matter how I perform today or in the future...lol.


I think fully guaranteed anything no matter what is horseshit. It leaves for zero incentives to produce.

Every other major sports league uses them. It levels the field from owners scrapping the useless paper contracts can be written on in the NFL.

Do basketball and baseball players just stop playing once the ink is dry?

 

[BLITZ]

he signed his contract 9/3/24. less than a year ago. no way do you restructure. he had a great year. he was hurt the year before. did not see him offer to give back $$ that year

 

[ExUSAF]

People in hell want ice water. If the FO caves to this demand I'll lose any respect I still had for them.

 

[steelhurt]

It's interesting to see this point of view of a group of fans who have watched this team win versus the younger fans on Twitter who are all about the players and giving them money. Cam has been on this team when they've made one deep playoff run and that year they were carried by the offense. He is always on the borderline of making excuses, particularly for the coaching staff. The perception of players will always be different when they are contending for Super Bowls every year vs. squeaking into the playoffs and getting blown out. We used to celebrate individual players in a large part because of the overall team accomplishments. Now it is mainly about individual stats and performances.

I welcome our younger generations of Steeler fans and enjoy their posts here,
I just know what our expectations were in the past with always SBs being the goal but now, I don’t know what the hell the goal is.
Appears that sectors of our fans are just content with non losing seasons with unrealistic beliefs of actually being serious contenders for a championship.
I cannot buy into to this and I don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel with an owner that I think really does not understand today’s game.
I think Art like his grandfather is a good guy but neither were football men. The real catalyst and football genius was Dan who rescued this franchise from ineptitude and failure and knew to hire the right people.
Which brings me to Hayward! In the past the Steelers would have helped him pack but now they’ll most likely cave into his demand.
He’s another guy like Watt who disappears in December and vanishes in the playoffs.

 

[WindyCitySteel]

The more I think about this the more pissed off I become. Cam wants to be a team leader and he pulls this crap. No wonder we can't win a bleeping playoff game.

Set an example man!

Him and TJ both. Last time they saw the field they got gashed. If either gets hurt and/or has a down year, they’ll go from fan favorite to goat.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Him and TJ both. Last time they saw the field they got gashed. If either gets hurt and/or has a down year, they’ll go from fan favorite to goat.

TJ is a greater player than Cam.

TJ will probably go down as one of the greatest Steelers REGULAR-Season player to play the game.

Sad that the moniker of “regular-season” has tp be added in there…………..




Salute the nation

 

[topseed]

I’m a Buckeye homer and I’m sick of this clown, shows up small in big games vs. good teams, always bitching about money, getting a spot for his little brother, who probably doesn’t belong in the league.

Make a statement and trade him.

I'm with you, man.

The Steelers did this guy right with a nice three-year extension coming off an injury-plagued season at his advanced age. A contract which I thought at the time was WAY too player-friendly. Yes, he proved me wrong and had a great season for the most part. But he disappeared as usual when it counted most.

I just can't believe that he's turning around and demanding more money a mere 11 months after signing a contract. That's just stupid, and people saying that we don't know what went on behind the scenes are kidding themselves -- the Steelers would have simply just signed him to a one-year, prove-it kind of deal if that's the structure they wanted. Heyward didn't have any leverage whatsoever at the time, and yet they rewarded him with three years at more than a fair price.

Cam puts up this facade of being a team-first, pillar-of-the-community, salt-of-the-earth type of player, but this ridiculousness obviously proves that he's just another greedy asshoIe.

 

[Pollardo40]

Real men honor commitments that they make. I have ZERO sympathy for these guys who makes deals then whine about them later. Now if you are at the end of your deal, then by al means negotiations can be done as you like. If you are under contract for X years, then do as you agreed. I feel the same regarding the team management too.

This has always been touchy for me. Whether or not I think cam needs a new deal….

My stance has always been that If we expect to hold players accountable for honoring their contracts then we need to do the same to organizations. If I get hired, then everybody else after me gets hired in at more money than me doing the same or less work, I’m going to be pissed.

But back to my original point… this is far from new obviously, but it was a long long time coming when teams can cut you, trade you, and hold you hostage. Players want their leverage just as much as teams do.

 

[Pollardo40]

No, you don't cut him, or trade him, you suspend his azz. Cutting or trading him means you are allowing him to get what he wants. When he does decide he wants to play then maybe he is a healthy scratch for a few weeks.

One side will bend, but the reality is that we aren’t in the 70s anymore.
There will never be a 1974 Steelers draft class again, simply because no team will ever be able to pay that many HOF caliber players at one time.

There isn’t a “pride,” thing anymore. But Cam I’m sure has had opportunities for more money elsewhere and he may be one of the closest in the league to that at this point.

A lot of that can be attributed to the inflated contracts now, but that’s just the world we live in at this point. Everybody wants their money, and will push for it.

You simply don’t get that hometown discount anymore because we are talking $100 million+ in many cases now and not $50k.

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

Maybe this contract extension are what him and Tomlin talk about as the walk off the field.

 

[Pollardo40]

Im no cap guru, but Dave Bryan of Steelers depot had a solid write up about this. Apparently his “extension,” last year was just a “glorified restructure.” He says that he earned no new money and he had a chunk of it turned into a signing bonus. He’s usually spot on with this stuff, and it changes the attitude around this conversation a bit in my eyes.

https://Invalid Link - Check SN Hom...l-contract-news-with-easy-solutions-for-both/

 

[Fiji Mariner]

TJ is a greater player than Cam.

TJ will probably go down as one of the greatest Steelers REGULAR-Season player to play the game.

Sad that the moniker of “regular-season” has tp be added in there…………..




Salute the nation

Sad…but he must wear that moniker

Dude can’t hold Woodley’s jock when it comes to playoff production

Obviously he’s a better player, just not when it counts

 

[MT~Forged]

This has always been touchy for me. Whether or not I think cam needs a new deal….

My stance has always been that If we expect to hold players accountable for honoring their contracts then we need to do the same to organizations. If I get hired, then everybody else after me gets hired in at more money than me doing the same or less work, I’m going to be pissed.

But back to my original point… this is far from new obviously, but it was a long long time coming when teams can cut you, trade you, and hold you hostage. Players want their leverage just as much as teams do.

Read the last sentence of the post you quoted.

 

[MT~Forged]

One side will bend, but the reality is that we aren’t in the 70s anymore.
There will never be a 1974 Steelers draft class again, simply because no team will ever be able to pay that many HOF caliber players at one time.

There isn’t a “pride,” thing anymore. But Cam I’m sure has had opportunities for more money elsewhere and he may be one of the closest in the league to that at this point.

A lot of that can be attributed to the inflated contracts now, but that’s just the world we live in at this point. Everybody wants their money, and will push for it.

You simply don’t get that hometown discount anymore because we are talking $100 million+ in many cases now and not $50k.

He got his money LAST YEAR. If he isn’t happy with the deal HE SIGNED, then sit out and lose money he will never recoup at his age. Another option, retire and get on with his life’s work.

 

[MT~Forged]

Sad…but he must wear that moniker

Dude can’t hold Woodley’s jock when it comes to playoff production

Obviously he’s a better player, just not when it counts

True, but it doesn’t help that he is saddled with a HC that “Lives in his fears” and plays to secure a winning season each year.

 

[Pollardo40]

Read the last sentence of the post you quoted.

Oh I know, and that’s why I followed up on it. Long winded way of saying I agree with that I suppose and layering on to it.

 

[Pollardo40]

He got his money LAST YEAR. If he isn’t happy with the deal HE SIGNED, then sit out and lose money he will never recoup at his age. Another option, retire and get on with his life’s work

I mentioned right above this comment that Dave Bryan for Steelers depot pointed out that Cam’s deal last year was essentially just a restructure.

There is part of me that believes Cam is looking to stack bread a bit as this is his last contract, which I don’t love.

BUT, it sounds like it’s not as clear cut as “I want a new deal,” in back to back years. So you saying “he got his money last year,” is kinda right on the money ironically but Wrong at the same time (sounds like). What he got last year appears to be money shifted around into a signing bonus that he was already owed.

Again, this is me going off of another Man’s reporting, but he is usually correct about this stuff.

If that’s true, last year seems to have been a help the team move cap space around. Then this year it may be him trying to call up that favor.

 

[stillwright]

Cam thinks he is worth more due to his last season of play.

My thinking is

1) keep his current contract that has already paid him money

2) Install and adder clause filled with stepped incentive based pay.

3). Total add in money could add $4-6mil to his pay if he reaches full incentives.
3b). Yes, make some incentives team success based, causing him to have to actually be a team leader and keep the team focused…….

4) Same stepped incentive pay for next year as well.


This would somewhat protect the Steelers, but also let Cam know that he has to put up or shut up. He guarantees his play so to speak…





Salute the nation

**** adding new money. Not hard for our FO if they are smart. Tell Cam...Play or don't. Either way you are under contract. Cam already received 90% plus of this years salary via bonus. Now he wants more $$$$. Laughable actually.

 

[stillwright]

I mentioned right above this comment that Dave Bryan for Steelers depot pointed out that Cam’s deal last year was essentially just a restructure.

There is part of me that believes Cam is looking to stack bread a bit as this is his last contract, which I don’t love.

BUT, it sounds like it’s not as clear cut as “I want a new deal,” in back to back years. So you saying “he got his money last year,” is kinda right on the money ironically but Wrong at the same time (sounds like). What he got last year appears to be money shifted around into a signing bonus that he was already owed.

Again, this is me going off of another Man’s reporting, but he is usually correct about this stuff.

If that’s true, last year seems to have been a help the team move cap space around. Then this year it may be him trying to call up that favor.

AI says this....

Last year, in September 2024, Cam Heyward signed a three-year contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers worth $45 million. This extension keeps him with the Steelers through the 2026 season. The deal includes $16 million guaranteed and $29 million in new money, according to CBS Sports.


I don't know but seems like the only money shifting going on was into Cam's pocket.

 

[stillwright]

Every other major sports league uses them. It levels the field from owners scrapping the useless paper contracts can be written on in the NFL.

Do basketball and baseball players just stop playing once the ink is dry?

I don't care one way or another. Comes down to the players and owners working it out in the next CBA. What will the players have to give up to get that though....or will the owners simply hand over that big nugget of leverage?

 

[Drink IRON City]

**** adding new money. Not hard for our FO if they are smart. Tell Cam...Play or don't. Either way you are under contract. Cam already received 90% plus of this years salary via bonus. Now he wants more $$$$. Laughable actually.

I hear yaz stillwright, I was just giving an alternative view of if the Steelers do fold to his demands.

My true feeling is **** Cam. Less than a year after he signed his extension.

DK has a great Dailey Shot on this very topic…..







It’s a good listen. ALSO about 1/2 way in he answers a question of the day sort of thing (pretty good)




Salute the nation

 

[TimesAreChanged]

TJ is a greater player than Cam.

TJ will probably go down as one of the greatest Steelers REGULAR-Season player to play the game.

Sad that the moniker of “regular-season” has tp be added in there…………..




Salute the nation

I thought it was the HC fault when they lose but you've shown me it's the players fault

 

[Drink IRON City]

I thought it was the HC fault when they lose but you've shown me it's the players fault

Stay in class my young Padawan, I’ll show new things unimaginable through football and life……………..




Salute the nation

 

[WindyCitySteel]

Im no cap guru, but Dave Bryan of Steelers depot had a solid write up about this. Apparently his “extension,” last year was just a “glorified restructure.” He says that he earned no new money and he had a chunk of it turned into a signing bonus. He’s usually spot on with this stuff, and it changes the attitude around this conversation a bit in my eyes.

https://Invalid Link - Check SN Hom...l-contract-news-with-easy-solutions-for-both/

$29M in new money, his contract was set to expire. Cam signed the extension for security instead of betting on himself, now he wants a do-over.

https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/cam-heyward-pittsburgh-steelers-contract-extension/

 

[topseed]

Im no cap guru, but Dave Bryan of Steelers depot had a solid write up about this. Apparently his “extension,” last year was just a “glorified restructure.” He says that he earned no new money and he had a chunk of it turned into a signing bonus. He’s usually spot on with this stuff, and it changes the attitude around this conversation a bit in my eyes.

https://Invalid Link - Check SN Hom...l-contract-news-with-easy-solutions-for-both/

That "solid write up" is full of pro-Heyward propaganda. Yes, in theory or any other way you look at it in reality, he most certainly DID get an extension. If he hadn't, he would have been an unrestricted free agent in 2025. Cam got guaranteed money in 2024, and he's already had $13.45 million in his pocket for 2025 since mid-March. So he wants to hold the Steelers hostage for more now that the preseason is here? Bullshlt. If last September's deal was just a planned "glorified restructure," they'd already have worked something out months ago.