The contract details for the deal between Justin Fields and the New York Jets have been revealed, and the Pittsburgh Steelers final offer to their former quarterback did not come close to stacking up to what Fields got financially from the Jets.
The Jets landed Fields with a two-year, $40 million contract, with $30 million guaranteed. For the Jets purposes, there are some void years in there that make the salary cap situation a bit complicated, but when it comes to what the Jets were offering Fields, the contract is simple to digest.
Fields received a $15 million signing bonus. He’ll have a $5 million base salary in 2025 that is guaranteed, and also a $20 million base salary in 2026, half of which is guaranteed.
So what did the Steelers offer? According to Steelers Now sources, the team offered Fields a two-year deal worth $30 million. While the specific distribution of salaries could not be ascertained as of this writing, Aditi Kinkhabwala of CBS Sports reported on Monday that the Steelers did not offer any guarantees beyond the first year to Fields.
Given the way the Steelers usually structure their contracts, that suggests their offer was for $15 million in guarantees, at the very most. So while the Steelers and Fields were just $5 million per season apart in the total top-line salary, they were likely offering only half what the Jets offered in full guarantees.
The Steelers wanted Fields back, and considered him their first choice to be their quarterback for 2025, but that preference clearly contained an upward limit on what they thought he was worth.
Now, the Steelers appear to be left to pick between Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson at quarterback. It does not sound as if Rodgers will be cheaper than Fields would have been.