Omar Khan laid out the plan before a single check cleared. At a press conference in Indianapolis, the Pittsburgh Steelers General Manager said the team has a “good young nucleus of guys,” worthy of contract extensions. So they paid up. 

Linebacker Nick Herbig signed a whopping four-year, $100 million extension with $42 million guaranteed in June. Tight end Darnell Washington followed with four years and $42 million ($21 million guaranteed). Defensive tackle Keeanu Benton, too, got four years and another lucrative $72 million in August. That adds up to $214 million for three players from the 2023 class. However, former Steelers star Vince Williams thinks the money was ahead of their resumes. 

“I think they overpaid all of ’em. I honestly think none of them earned those numbers that they got,” Williams said. 

The first half of Williams’ complaint is a claim about the past, and the numbers support it. Herbig had 7.5 sacks in 2025, second on the team while starting only six games. He crossed the $100 mark without even having a full season as a starter.

As for Mount Washington, he has 31 catches and 364 yards. Benton had two sacks and three tackles for loss in his first two seasons combined, then 5.5 sacks and six tackles for loss last year. His $18 million average now makes him the highest-paid defensive lineman in franchise history. 

Since the extension, Herbig posted 123 snaps with no sacks, three tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. Benton has nine tackles, no sacks, and one quarterback hit, which Williams described as not “justifying his contract.” The former linebacker’s remarks about Herbig and Benton are backed up.

However, Washington is an exception, with nine catches on 13 targets for 119 yards and a touchdown. 

Williams continued, noting that the extensions were an incentive for the future, and not a reflection of their current performance.

“I think all of those were a foreshadowing, a future kind of push,” he added. “Like, okay, this is the new regime, these are the guys we’re gonna headline. And these are gonna be our playmakers in the future. That’s why they got those deals, in my opinion.”

GM Omar Khan expressed confidence in Herbig at the combine, hoping he stays in Pittsburgh for a long time. Earlier in July, he told reporters that the Steelers front office never shies away from a conversation about “drafting, developing and extending” their players. 

Head coach Mike McCarthy backed the money this week. 

“I think when a player achieves a second contract, he’s earned that.”

While Williams says that it might be too soon to pay such lucrative contracts, the three players can seemingly live up to the money invested and pass the expectations.

With Derrick Harmon on injured reserve, Benton is expected to carry more of the interior in the upcoming matchup against the Indianapolis Colts. That leaves a thin margin for error for the tackle to prove his money’s worth.