A history of Steelers holdouts

A history of Steelers holdouts

Cam Heyward is hardly the first Pittsburgh Steelers icon to skip practice in search of a new contract. Here are some of the biggest holdouts in black and gold history.

Rod Woodson (1987)

The Steelers drafted Woodson with the tenth overall pick in 1987. The team offered him a $1 million contract, which was lower than what his rookie peers were making. Woodson declined, skipping all of training camp and the first half of the season. Instead, he ran track on the European circuit and earned a bronze medal at the 1987 USA Olympic festival. On October 28th, Woodson finally ended his 95-day holdout and signed a $1.8 million deal with the Steelers. His bust is now in the Hall of Fame.

Mike Merriweather (1988)

The outside linebacker went to 3 straight pro bowls from 1984-1986. Then, he was the team MVP in 1987. Merriweather was not happy to be making $400,000 in 1988, which was below what other linebackers were making at the time. He decided to sit out the entire season. He compared Dan Rooney to a dictator, claiming he was trying to get rid of veterans, “like when Stalin came into power in Russia. He purged the whole party.” The following off-season, Pittsburgh traded Merriweather to the Vikings for a first-round pick. Minnesota made him their highest-paid player with an average annual salary of $700,000. Pittsburgh used the draft pick to select offensive lineman and Murrysville native Tom Ricketts. He made 13 starts over the next three years.

Hines Ward (2005)

Ward considered holding out in 2004, but Dan Rooney and Jerome Bettis talked him out of it. In 2005, he made a different decision. Ward missed the first two weeks of training camp. He finally showed up on the sidelines for the first pre-season game. On September 5th, he signed a four-year extension for $25.83 million. That season Ward earned a Super Bowl ring and co-MVP honors (along with Casey Hampton). Ward would later say the holdout is something he will always regret.

Mike Wallace (2012)

Wallace didn’t want to sign his restricted free agent tender for $2.7 million in 2012. He held out from all OTAs and the majority of training camp. Wallace finally reported on August 28th and signed his tender, but he never received an extension from Pittsburgh. He finished the season with 64 receptions, 836 yards, and eight touchdowns. He then became a free agent, signing with Miami.

Antonio Brown (2015)

AB didn’t attend voluntary workouts in the 2015 offseason. There was a lot of speculation that he could be on the verge of a holdout. Brown was the 14th highest-paid receiver that year, behind less prolific players like Jeremy Maclin and Pierre Garcon. However, Brown showed up for the first day of training camp, pulling up in a black and gold Rolls-Royce. He said, “Holdouts never go well. Just look at history. It always ends badly. It wouldn’t be the best decision. You get caught up thinking about the future, and you lose sight of the present.”

Le’Veon Bell (2018)

Bell skipped training camp in 2017, before finally signing his franchise tag that season. When the Steelers tagged him again in 2018, he refused to sign. Bell skipped the entire season, then signed with the Jets in 2019.

TJ Watt (2021)

Watt introduced the era of the “hold-in.” He entered 2021 on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract. However, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement gave larger penalties to players who skipped training camp. So Watt executed a different strategy. He attended practice but didn’t participate in any team drills. He only did light warmups with his teammates and then finished practice by himself. It came down to the wire, but on September 9th, Watt signed a four-year $112 million contract, with $80 million guaranteed.

Minkah Fitzpatrick (2022)

Fitzpatrick appeared to follow Watt’s lead in 2022. He stayed on the sideline for mandatory minicamp. But the Steelers weren’t going to let these negotiations drag out. Fitzpatrick signed a four-year, $73.6 million extension on June 16th.

Diontae Johnson (2022)

Johnson also played the hold-in card. Pittsburgh signed him to a two-year extension on August 4th, well before the first pre-season game.