“The price isn't going down” - J.J. Watt makes feelings known on impact of Maxx Crosby’s $106,500,00 deal on T.J. Watt’s Steelers future

Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby just changed the game for defensive players. It was reported yesterday that Crosby inked a three-year, $106.5 million extension, with $91.5 million in guaranteed money.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal makes Crosby the "highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history." With other defensive pass-rushing stars' contracts coming up, the Crosby deal certainly changes the market across the NFL at the position.

Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson, Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt all have deals coming up, and their respective organizations will likely make re-signing them a top priority.

J.J. Watt, former star defensive end for the Houston Texans and brother of T.J. Watt, joined "The Pat McAfee Show" on Thursday and offered his thoughts on the situation.

When asked if the Steelers are going to want to get a deal with Watt done sooner rather than later in the wake of the Crosby news, J.J. Watt confirmed it would be in the organization's best interest. This is because the number in terms of market value for players of T.J. Watt's caliber is only going up.

“First of all, congratulations to Maxx, love the way he plays, love that he plays every single snap of the game … The earlier you get a deal done, the better deal you get. That's just a fact. That's why, I mean my personal belief, they should have done last year, because I think there was a hometown discount to be had last year.

"But now, the longer you wait this year, you've got Micah (Parsons) coming up, like you said, you got Aidan Hutchinson, you got Myles (Garrett), you got these guys getting new deals. That number is going to inch closer to fours in front of it instead of threes. So you're going to want to get that done earlier rather than later because the price isn't going down.”

Pittsburgh hopes to keep T.J. Watt a Steeler for the rest of his career with potentially historic deal

NFL: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers - Source: Imagn

T.J. Watt signed a four-year contract extension worth over $112 million with the Steelers back in 2021, with $80 million of that being guaranteed money.

At the time, it made T.J. Watt the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Watt has established himself as one of the most dominant defensive players in the league over the course of his career. The contract was certainly well-earned.

Now, with Watt's deal set to expire at the end of the 2025 season, Pittsburgh is hoping to re-sign the 30-year-old to an extension that could potentially keep him in black-and-gold for the remainder of his career.

Of course, now that Crosby has signed his history-making contract, it's likely that the Steelers will have to shell out some major cash to keep the four-time First-Team All-Pro on their roster.