diff --git a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/collection/unsafe/sort/UnsafeExternalSorter.java b/core/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/collection/unsafe/sort/UnsafeExternalSorter.java
index 428ff72e71a43..7835017910232 100644
--- a/core/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/collection/unsafe/sort/UnsafeExternalSorter.java
+++ b/core/src/main/java/org/apache/spark/util/collection/unsafe/sort/UnsafeExternalSorter.java
@@ -145,7 +145,9 @@ private UnsafeExternalSorter(
     // Use getSizeAsKb (not bytes) to maintain backwards compatibility for units
     // this.fileBufferSizeBytes = (int) conf.getSizeAsKb("spark.shuffle.file.buffer", "32k") * 1024;
     this.fileBufferSizeBytes = 32 * 1024;
-    this.writeMetrics = taskContext.taskMetrics().shuffleWriteMetrics();
+    // The spill metrics are stored in a new ShuffleWriteMetrics, and then discarded (this fixes SPARK-16827).
+    // TODO: Instead, separate spill metrics should be stored and reported (tracked in SPARK-3577).
+    this.writeMetrics = new ShuffleWriteMetrics();
 
     if (existingInMemorySorter == null) {
       this.inMemSorter = new UnsafeInMemorySorter(