Nick Herbig Just Got $100 Million From the Steelers. The Edge Group in Pittsburgh Is Officially Loaded
Nick Herbig just got paid like a top edge rusher in the NFL. The Steelers signed him to a four-year, $100 million extension with $42 million guaranteed. That works out to $25 million per year, which makes him the second-highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history to land that kind of deal without ever starting a full season.
That stat alone tells you how much the Steelers believe in Herbig. He was a fourth-round pick in 2023. He recorded a career-high 7.5 sacks last season with 30 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three passes defensed, and his first career interception. He did all of that while T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith were also in the lineup.
The Pittsburgh edge group is now the highest-paid in the league outside of Houston. Watt is making $34.5 million per year. Highsmith is at $17.5 million. Herbig just joined them at $25 million. The Steelers have $77 million annually committed to three edge rushers, and Mike Tomlin is not even there anymore to coach them.
Speaking of Tomlin, this is the kind of move that might have been unthinkable in his era. The Steelers under Tomlin would have let Herbig walk for the right pick. They would have prioritized depth at running back or interior offensive line. The new front office under Omar Khan and the new coaching staff under Mike McCarthy is operating differently.
The bet is that Watt is starting to slow down. He turns 32 in October. He is still elite, but he is on the downside of his career, and the Steelers need to know that the pass rush is set when Watt eventually steps away. Herbig is the long-term insurance policy. Highsmith is the bridge. Aaron Rodgers gets one year. The pass rush has to be the foundation.
Herbig has been compared to Watt for two reasons. One, he was a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin who has consistently exceeded expectations. Two, his bend around the edge is rare for a guy his size. He is 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, and can dip under tackles the way only a handful of players in the NFL can.
The deal has a few interesting numbers. Herbig is the first non-quarterback to land a $100 million contract without ever starting a full NFL season. He has 18 career starts. He has 12.5 career sacks. He has played 60% of the snaps over the past two years. That is the resume the Steelers paid for.
The Steelers’ faith in Herbig as a starter has been clear since training camp last year. The team rotated him into the lineup early, fed him third-down reps when Watt and Highsmith were rotating, and trusted him to make the play when the game was on the line. He did it. The 7.5 sacks were a starting point, not a ceiling.
What this means for the Steelers in 2026 is they have committed to their defensive identity in a way they have not had to since the Joey Porter and James Harrison days. The pass rush is the team. Aaron Rodgers is going to throw the ball more than 30 times a game. The defense has to keep games close enough for Rodgers to do his thing.
If Herbig follows up his breakout year with double-digit sacks, the Steelers look like geniuses. If he plateaus at 7.5 sacks, this contract is going to feel heavy by 2028. Right now, the deal is the right kind of bet on a young player who has done nothing but exceed expectations.
The Steelers’ pass rush is officially the most expensive in the league not named Houston. Now they have to be the most productive.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
