Connect with us

Steelers News

Report: Steelers Sign Diontae Johnson to 2-year, $36.71 Million Extension

Published

on

Diontae Johnson Steelers

The Steelers and Diontae Johnson have agreed to a 2-year, $36.71 million extension, according to a report by Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.

Johnson will receive $27 million guaranteed out of that $36.71 million. Still, that makes it only about a $18.35 million per year extension, so the Steelers ended up coming out below the magical $20 million and Johnson gets a lot of guaranteed money. The extension will keep Johnson in Pittsburgh through the 2024 season as a result.

In addition, the number in the first year for Johnson is huge, coming in at $19 million in just the first year of the deal. It makes for Johnson, who will now hit free agency at the age of 29. So, he will still have an opportunity to cash in again later in his career. The deal can eventually reach up to as much as $39.5 million in totality.

Just two days ago, Steelers general manager Omar Khan signaled that the Steelers badly wanted Johnson to stay in Pittsburgh. It is now accomplished with a short-term extension. The Steelers get to keep the guy who is their top wide receiver, and Johnson gets a high guaranteed money number.

This extension will make Johnson the 17th highest paid receiver in the NFL on an average per year value over those two years of the extension. That puts him over Christian Kirk but below Michael Thomas in the receiver hierarchy of average per year among wide receivers.

For Johnson, this is a good deal with that guaranteed money figure. When it comes to the Steelers, it makes plenty of sense to sign this deal. It is not overly lucrative on any front, and the Steelers are still only locked into his contract until 2024 in case something would go wrong.

Regardless, Diontae Johnson is likely to put on the pads on Friday night and begin ramping up to full participation in practice. The hold-in is now over for Johnson as he dons the Steelers logo for another three seasons.