Cam Heyward is in Pittsburgh to stay, and he's now one of the NFL's highest-paid defensive players.
The former Ohio State defensive lineman agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night that will make him the NFL's highest-paid defensive player over 30, according to multiple reports.
Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, who was the first to report on the contract extension, Heyward's new deal includes $65.6 million in new money and will pay him more than $75 million over the next five years.
Totals for Cam Heyward on his new deal.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 7, 2020
*Five years, $75.1 million
*$65.6 million in new money (includes last year of current deal)
*Yearly average highest for defensive player over 30 in NFL history.
Huge deal for an All-Pro and leader of Steelers D.
Heyward celebrated the news by tweeting an edited clip of the famous “I'm not leaving!” scene from “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Pittsburgh is where I belong! pic.twitter.com/mMj3DbKm4T
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) September 7, 2020
Heyward, who was entering the final year of his current contract with the Steelers, has played his entire career in Pittsburgh since the Steelers selected him in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft. A stalwart on the Steelers' defensive line, Heyward has missed only 10 games in his nine NFL seasons and has been selected to each of the last three Pro Bowls, also earning All-Pro honors in both 2017 and 2019.
The four-year, $65.6 million extension puts Heyward, who is now 31 years old, just ahead of Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins, who signed a four-year, $65.3 million contract extension in 2018, to become the NFL's highest-paid defensive player over 30.
