“He said ‘c’mon don’t tell me that the rich don’t know
Sooner or later it all comes down to money…’”
– Bruce Springsteen, “A Big Muddy,” Luckytown
Cam Heyward’s contract situation with the Steelers is complicated. But it is hardly unique.
But as both a fan of Cam Heyward and the franchise that is the Pittsburgh Steelers, the word I’d use to describe it is simply: Unfortunate.
Paying homage to Franco, Cam Heyward leads Steelers out of tunnel. Photo Credit: Karl Roser, Steelers.com
As fans, and perhaps particularly fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers, we sometimes tempt ourselves into feeling that it really is only about playing, winning, losing and competing for championships. And so when a player who serves as the “Face of the Franchise” goes public with a contract complaint things get awkward in a hurry.
A sight Steelers Nation should have never seen. Photo Credit: X
Franco Harris held out and got cut. The left the tune of Chuck Noll’s “Franco who?” ringing in our ears and this awful after image burned in our retinas.
Slightly over a decade later, someone from the Steelers brain trust, presumptively Tom Donahoe – although that’s never been confirmed – tried to strong arm Rod Woodson into signing a low-ball offer.
Woodson declined.
Instead, he played 7 more years for the 49ers, Ravens and Raiders, and made 4 Pro Bowls, 2 All Pros and earned a Super Bowl ring for his trouble.
- Dan Rooney regretted both departures.
To keep this in context, no one is talking about Cam Heyward leaving the Steelers. But yes, this situation unfortunate.
But what to make of it and how can we get out of it?
Yes, Two Things Can Be True
Decrying “Both sidesism” is in vogue these days and often times with merit. But this is one case where two things can be true:
- Cam Heyward agreed to a contract with the Steelers one year ago.
- A year later, that contract leaves Cam Heyward underpaid.
As fans, working for far less, it is easy to look at the $131,555,028 Heyward has made in his career, point to the $13,450,000 check the Steelers have already cut him for 2025 before he’s played a game this year, and say, “Come Cam, suck it up, strap on your helmet and get out there!”
Cam Heyward sacks Joe Burrow. Photo Credit: Chaz Palla, Tribune-Review
I don’t pretend to know what it’s like to play in the NFL, take the pounding a player takes with risk of a life-changing injury at any moment. But we shouldn’t dismiss Cam’s comments about wanting to feel valued.
For most of my professional life, I’ve worked Nearshore, and several times I’ve seen the value of my salary eroded by the twin specters of inflation and devaluation.
Cam Heyward is a straight up, honest man. And if he says he told Art Rooney II and Omar Khan that he’d be coming back asking for more if he had a good year – and Cam had a great year in 2024 – they everyone should believe him.
But it isn’t as simple as that.
No Matter The Angle, Optics Are Bad
The problem here is the optics. A year ago when Heyward reupped, he explained “There are certain guys who are one-helmet guys. I want to be one of those one-helmet guys.”
The feeling was mutual – the Steelers included 29 million in new money, although the deal did not include any new guaranteed money. The Steelers have already paid them the bulk of his 2025 money, and are not on the hook for anything in 2026, although they are due a roster bonus in 2026.
But even if he did say he’d want more if he had a strong year, why then, as Dejan Kovacevic has asked, didn’t his agent work that into his contract?
Why go public with this pay dispute?
Heyward says he made his request in February and again, we should believe him. He’s been holding in through training camp, yet no one knew about it until he, or more likely his agent, leaked it to the national press?
- And his he really serious about missing games?
If he really is then I think he is guilty of wanting to have it both ways. If he’s not then he’s unnecessarily exacerbating things. Either way, he looks almost petty.
AB Offers a Way Out?
The Steelers have a different approach to contracts. They don’t negotiate during the season, a tradition that began in 1993 and has served them well since then. They also don’t renegotiate deals for players who have more than one year left on their current contract.
That would seem to leave them between a rock and a hard place.
However, they were in a similar situation with Antonio Brown several years back, and Kevin Colbert worked out of it be with a restructure that converted future salary into current year bonuses.
The smart money says something similar will happen with Heyward. IF it does, this will fade into hindsight. But until the situation remains unfortunate.
