Steelers sign Cam Heyward to 3-year contract in deal that saves more than $9M against this year's salary cap

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers have signed Pro Bowl defensive tackle Cam Heyward to a new three-year, $45 million contract that will save the team more than $9 million against the salary cap this season, according to sources.

Heyward will be guaranteed $16 million as part of the new deal, an amount that represents what he was scheduled to earn in base salary in 2024. That salary was converted into the form of a signing bonus.

Heyward, who enters his 14th season with the team, was in the final year of a five-year, $65.6 million deal he signed in 2020. At 35, he was already the highest-paid interior defensive lineman over the age of 31 in the NFL.

The Steelers have an unofficial policy of not negotiating contracts once the regular season begins. They also hope to sign Pat Freiermuth, the lowest-paid starting tight end in the league, to a new deal before Sunday’s game in Atlanta.

Freiermuth is now in the final year of his four-year rookie contract and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Heyward has said all along he would like to finish his career with the Steelers, who drafted him in the first round in 2011. But he also said he wanted to play several more years and was willing to go somewhere else if the Steelers didn’t give him a new contract.

Heyward is coming off an injury-plagued season hampered by groin and knee issues, but he said he is fully recovered and ready to regain the form that made him a six-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time All-Pro. He did not appear in any of the Steelers' three preseason games because the Steelers wanted to save him for the regular season.

Heyward played 11 games in 2023, totaling 25 tackles, six tackles for losses, two sacks and a pass deflection. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound defensive lineman has played all 194 of his NFL career games in Pittsburgh since being selected by the Steelers with the 31st overall pick in the 2011 draft.

Heyward has totaled 80.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles and two interceptions during his decade-plus tenure in Pittsburgh, including a career-high 10.5 sacks just two seasons ago. He registered 20.5 sacks combined in 2021 and 2022 before injuries derailed his 2023 campaign.

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