A pair of former Wisconsin Badgers have been able to continue to play together at the next level. The Pittsburgh Steelers recently re-signed defensive tackle Keeanu Benton to a lucrative $72 million deal that'll keep him with the team for the next four years. That was music to outside linebacker Nick Herbig's ears. The two played together in Madison, which just so happens to be where they first met and formed a lifelong bond. In an interview with Steelers' Alan Saunders, Herbig said he was far more excited than Benton when KB signed his new contract.
#Steelers OLB Nick Herbig gets emotional talking about the contract extension for Keeanu Benton and getting to spend four more years with his best friend. pic.twitter.com/GJkHaX3mV9 — Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) August 15, 2026 "We've been best friends since the day we met in college," Herbig told Saunders. "That's like my brother," Herbig said as he began to choke up. "Just everything we've been through together, all the trials, hardships, grinding, and going through the mud together, getting drafted together, just this journey we've been on, now that it's all full circle, I can't even put into words how it feels." A lifelong bond that began in Madison Benton first arrived to UW in 2019, but Herbig would join him in 2020. They played together with the Badgers until 2022. In the 2023 NFL Draft, Benton was selected No. 49 overall by the Steelers, the same team that selected Herbig at No. 132. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Jordon Lawrenz on X @jordonlaw_pxp. This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin alum Nick Herbig discusses NFL journey with Keeanu Benton