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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is set to turn 39 in March, but he looks set to play in what will be his 18th season in the NFL. There’s one hurdle he and the franchise will have to overcome, though, and that’s his contract.
According to Spotrac, Roethlisberger has a base salary of $ 4,000,000 and a bonus of $ 15,000,000 in 2021, while raising a cap of $ 41,250,000. As CBS Sports’ Joel Corry noted earlier this month, the Steelers compounded Roethlisberger’s problem last March by lowering his 2020 maximum number from $ 33.5 million to $ 23.75 million in converting $ 19.5 million of his 2020 $ 21 million compensation into a signing bonus. Roethlisberger’s cap for 2021 has been increased by $ 9.75 million in the process. The Steelers would have to restructure his deal if they want to re-sign several important free agents, and recently Roethlisberger has made it clear he is more than open to the idea.
Thursday, Roethlisberger said Athletic’s Ed Bouchette that he first approached the Steelers to restructure his contract.
“I want to do everything I can and made it very clear to them from the start that it was my idea to help the team in any way I can this year,” Roethlisberger said.
“I don’t care about my pay at all this year! ”
Roethlisberger and Pittsburgh don’t have too much time to sort out the details, as Roethlisberger’s roster bonus is due on March 19. Still, it’s a big development for the Steelers as it shows their quarterback is ready to play in 2021 and also reveals that both sides are on the same page on what to do during the off-season in order to have ceiling space to work. Shortly before Roethlisberger made these comments, Steelers owner Art Rooney II spoke about “Big Ben” ‘s financial situation with reporters.
“Ben walked in. I haven’t sat down with him myself yet, but he’s sat down with coach Tomlin and Kevin (Colbert). Ben wants to come back, so we’ve left that door open,” said Rooney II, via Jim Wexell of 247Sports. “We’ve been, I think, on the front lines with Ben letting him know that we can’t get him back under the current contract so I think he understands that we have work to do there. We will have more conversations. We will have more conversations internally. We’ll have more conversations with Ben. Obviously, we’ll have to know what the maximum number is at any given time to finalize some of these decisions. “
Recently, optimism is said to have grown when the Steelers and Roethlisberger found a way to stay together in 2021. In his first full season since major elbow surgery, the two-time Super Bowl champion completed 65.6% of his time. passes for 3,803 yards. , 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Steelers started the 2020 season with an 11-0 record, but offensive inconsistencies and injuries led to a 1-4 finish. Those problems followed the Steelers into the playoffs, as they fell to the Cleveland Browns, 48-37, on Super Wild-Card weekend.
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