PITTSBURGH — Ah yes, the old hold-in or holdout or whatever the term is — when a player upset with a contract is sitting out of some team activities. It is always my favorite because it is usually just a lot of hot air and almost always gets resolved before the games begin.

And that’s where we are with T.J. Watt, who is sitting out of OTAs because he wants to renegotiate his deal, get another three-year extension and become the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.

We know this because he isn’t at OTAs, but also we know this because his older brother, J.J. Watt, did some of the dirty work for him on “The Pat McAfee Show,” which seems to be the place where Steelers fans can find out what is happening with their players these days.

“I’ve long been a big believer that ownership and front offices obviously treat this as a business, but they do not like it when the players flip the script on them and treat it like a business back,” J.J. said when McAfee asked him about T.J.’s contract situation. “If you take care of things early, especially when players want to take care of things earlier and say that they’ll take less money to take care of things earlier because it sets themselves up long term financially, do that.”

T.J. Watt is going into the final year of his contract, and that is what is at the heart of all this because he doesn’t want to risk getting injured and yadda yadda yadda before he cashes in one more time.

The cynical side of me thinks the Steelers should tell him, “We will give you an extra year for every playoff victory you have been a part of,” seeing as the Steelers have yet to win a playoff game with him in the lineup.

That is not entirely Watt’s fault, but to paraphrase Branch Rickey, the Steelers could have lost all of those playoff games in a row without Watt. I do think there is something to be said about the fact Watt seems to get worn down as the season goes on and is a lot less effective at the end than he is at the beginning.

Watt has appeared in four playoff games, and quite frankly, had it not been for a strip sack and return for a touchdown against Kansas City — one play — you would have a hard time even knowing he has played in those games. He has one sack — that aforementioned strip sack — and three tackles for loss in four games.

He goes from being a game wrecker and game changer in the regular season to just sort of a guy in the postseason. And I don’t think it is because he forgets how to play. I just think he gets worn down and beat up and loses a little bit of his maniacal edge.

Don’t get me wrong — Watt is an incredible player. Obviously the Steelers are better with him than without, but the Steelers have always been great about knowing when it is time to move on from an all timer. And if you look at the list of players — Hall of Famers like Troy Polamalu and Ben Roethlisberger — the Steelers have gently asked them to get on with their life’s work. I am not sure why they wouldn’t at least consider that with Watt.

Only, in this case, Watt has made it clear he isn’t ready to retire, so the Steelers, as I see it, have two choices if they really want to handle him the right way — actually three, but I don’t know that the third is something he would be interested in.

The first is to trade him, and this would make a lot of sense on a lot of levels, as the Steelers seem to have a lot of options for that outside linebacker/edge rusher spot and they are all going to come with a much cheaper price tag than Watt. This would enable the Steelers to maybe stockpile a few more draft picks to move up in the draft or just amass a lot of young depth and future starters.

The second would be to have him play the last year on this deal, then use the franchise tag for next year, in essence getting two more seasons out of him, and then move on from him. At that point, he would be 32 or 33 years old, and given his body type and how hard and violently he plays, that’s a lot more mileage on his tires. This is not likely, as the franchise tag is usually reserved for the guys coming off their first contract, but what the heck — it is a tool at their disposal.

The third would be to give him a Cam Heyward-like extension, in which the last two seasons are not going to be all that difficult to get out from underneath if the Steelers should decide he isn’t able to play at the level commensurate with his contract. I just don’t know if Watt would go for it, as it is clear he wants a deal like (or even better) than Myles Garrett’s, which is four years, $160 million with $123 million guaranteed.

For the record, I think that is a laughable contract on the Browns’ part, but that’s the Browns being the Browns, I suppose. Watt will want more than that, which means the Steelers are facing the prospects of giving him $41 million a year and $130 million guaranteed.

That is outrageous. I am sorry, Watt is a great player, but I just don’t know that his playoff performances merit that kind of money.

The Steelers would be much better off letting him play this year and seeing if he is more of a factor down the stretch and in the playoffs. If he is, then they can talk about a franchise tag or maybe a two-year extension for him, but I just don’t think they should commit to him for four years or whatever.

That being said, we all know how this ends, as it is very clear the Steelers are going to cave and give him the big-money deal he wants. In my estimation, that is bad business. I said three years ago when they signed him to a four-year, $112 million deal they would never get their money’s worth out of that, and so far, it has produced some regular season accolades and not much more than that.

Loyalty is a good thing, but good business moves have to be a part of the equation, as well, and the best move that can be made with respect to Watt is making sure he is not the highest-paid defensive player in the league.

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