If Ben Roethlisberger continues to play, the Steelers will have to figure out how to lower his cap to $ 41.25 million.

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Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said on Wednesday he was not fully aware of the dynamics surrounding quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s maximum load for 2021.

“I don’t have a clear assessment of the overall impact of the cap’s ramifications, so I might not have a straightforward answer to your question,” Tomlin said. “But I think it’s reasonable to assume there’s a chance he’ll come back, sure.” I’m not aware of the depth of the ramifications of the ceiling discussions, as I’m sitting here right now.

If Tomlin is reading this, here’s the reality: Roethlisberger’s cap for 2021 is $ 41.25 million.

If Roethlisberger retires, it’s still $ 22.25 million. The challenge becomes, if Ben continues his career, to come up with an expansion that, in practice, will place the final charge between $ 22.25 million and $ 41.25 million.

The $ 22.75 million is the floor, as this is the last installment of his most recent signing bonus ($ 12.5 million) and his most recent restructuring bonus ($ 9.75 million). dollars). Roethlisberger earns a roster bonus of $ 15 million on the third day of the 2021 championship year, as well as a base salary of $ 4 million during the regular season. The flexibility comes from reconfiguring that $ 19 million into amounts that apply to the current cap and future caps.

With a minimum wage of $ 1.075 million for players with seven or more years of experience, the Steelers could convert $ 17.925 million into a signing bonus that would be spread over time. The question then becomes how much of this amount will apply until 2021 and how much will apply to future years.

For example, if the Steelers give Ben a new four-year contract with three dummy years, they can slice the $ 17.925 million into four equal installments of $ 4.48 million each. That would bring the maximum number of 2021 to $ 26.73 million and push $ 13.44 million in future years. Then, if 2021 becomes its final year, the charge of $ 13.44 million would apply in 2022.

While $ 26.73 million doesn’t hurt as much as $ 41.25 million, it is still a large cap charge. And remember this: Ben would have to accept a new deal. If he says, “I’m just going to honor my contract,” the Steelers should consider whether they should pay him $ 15 million on March 19 or cut him.

In that scenario, he would be assured of not owing Pittsburgh any of the $ 12.5 million in unearned signing bonuses.

If cut, would Ben Roethlisberger play for another team? Probably not, but we would have said the same about Brett Favre and Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers and Tom Brady.

So here are the options: retire, reverse the remaining deal, extend the contract to drop the cap, or tear up the rest of the contract and make Ben a free agent, for the first time in his career.