Apr 8, 2022 5 min read

No, the Steelers aren’t close to signing Minkah Fitzpatrick to a new contract just yet, despite a so-called report from the NFL Network to the contrary.

In fact, the two sides aren’t even talking at this point and won’t until the draft is completed at the end of this month.

That doesn’t mean something won’t get done. It just means there’s currently nothing happening with a new contract for Fitzpatrick.

The Steelers do things on their own schedule. They’re in the middle of hosting their 30 pre-draft visits. Then, they’ll hunker down as an organization and finalize their draft board.

Once they get through all of that, then they’ll start talking to Fitzpatrick about a new deal. It’s what they did with T.J. Watt last season – though those negotiations dragged on through training camp – and it’s what they did with their star players before Fitzpatrick.

People fretting over the situation need not worry. Fitzpatrick is under contract for $10.6 million in 2022 as part of his fifth-year option the Steelers picked up last offseason.

There’s no danger that he’s not going to play in 2022, just like there was no danger Watt wasn’t going to play last season.

It’s likely Fitzpatrick’s contract negotiations won’t drag on like those of Watt. Watt was trying to become the highest-paid defensive player in the league. Fitzpatrick will want to be the highest-paid safety in the league.

There’s about an $8-million-per-year difference in those two numbers.

But the deal will get done.

n Earlier this year, there was another “report” that Diontae Johnson was going to be seeking a new contract worth $15 million per year.

After seeing some of the contracts handed out to wide receivers this offseason, including a new one signed by the Buffalo Bills’ Stefan Diggs this week that averages nearly $25 million per year, $15 million per season seems like a bargain.

If you’re getting the idea that NFL teams think there’s going to be a big jump in the salary cap in the next few years, you’d be 100 percent correct. The cap is $208.2 million this season. It’s expected to climb to $250 million over the next couple of seasons.

n The Steelers’ initial win total in Las Vegas has been posted and it’s coming in at 7.5. That seems low for a team that hasn’t had a losing season since 2003.

Remember, there are now 17 NFL games. For the Steelers to come in under the win total, they’d have to go 7-10 or worse.

This is a franchise that went 8-8 with Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges starting 14 games in 2019.

n The Pirates get a lot of criticism – much of it warranted – for not keeping their good, young players and essentially being a minor-league team for the big-market teams in Major League Baseball.

But that overlooks some of the contracts they’ve signed some of their young players to such as the one they did this week with Ke’Bryan Hayes.

The Pirates agreed to an 8-year, $70-million contract with Hayes that will have him under contract with the Pirates until he’s 32.

They have done similar deals in the past with players such as Andrew McCutchen, Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Neil Walker.

They haven’t always worked out, but they have tried to sign some of their better players for the long term.

You’ll notice that all of those are position players, not pitchers.

It just doesn’t make a lot of sense to pay big money or long-term money to a pitcher. A good starting pitcher only performs every five games. And they’re also typically an injury waiting to happen.

n The kind of contract agreed to by Hayes are the ones fans should be looking for from their favorite team. Sign a player for the long term when he’s young so that you’re paying him for what he’s going to do for your team, not what he’s done for someone else.

It’s hard to look at many of the biggest contracts signed in Major League Baseball and view them as anything but a mistake. Mike Trout, for example, is an outstanding player. But he signed a 12-year, $426.5-million contract when he was 27. Is he really going to be worth $35.5 million when he’s 35, let alone 39?

That’s the difference between contracts in other sports compared to the NFL. Unless you’re Deshaun Watson signing a fully guaranteed contract with the Cleveland Browns, NFL contracts aren’t guaranteed. A player can be released and the only money you get to keep is the signing bonus and any other guaranteed money.

Trout? He’s going to get all $426.5 million of that contract he signed, whether he’s still playing or not.

It’s a massive difference.