EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was the biggest story following the Pittsburgh Steelers in the weeks leading up to the regular-season opener.
But after it finally got resolved Saturday, by the end of Sunday’s win it was largely an afterthought.
Sunday’s 34-32 win at the New York Jets was big enough that Cameron Heyward’s contract saga, which ended with him suiting up for the game, wasn’t at the top of his mind.
“Um, you know, I don’t really want to talk about that now,” Heyward said when asked about the $3 million in incentives that were added to his deal in an 11th-hour pact agreed to Saturday evening. “I think it’s important to just keep the vibe on (the win). I’ll answer that later.”
Cam Heyward says he is too excited about today’s win to talk about his amended contract with the Steelers pic.twitter.com/K2ExGjP9ND
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) September 7, 2025
Heyward, through the middle portions of training camp, was not participating in team drills during as a form of protest regarding his contract — signed last September — that had paid him more than $13 million in March for the 2025 season and was set to pay him another $1.3 million throughout this season.
Twice this past week — and as recently as Friday — Heyward expressed that he might not play in the opener.
After the contract got amended — incentives tied to team playoff qualification and advancement were added — Heyward did play against the Jets. He started and made three assisted tackles (one for loss) and batted down a pass that nearly ended up as an interception.
“It’s not anything special,” Heyward said in politely declining to offer his thoughts about the contract, “but I just think we just won a big freaking game against the New York Jets, (with a) new quarterback, new freaking weapons, new freaking players on our side of the ball. A big win. I can’t really focus on anything else but that.”
