At this moment, in this off-season, Flacco has signed a contract of 120 million for 6 years and this is 108 million for 6 years for Romo......Rodgers will soon have a contract of 25 million per year
This is likely that Roethlisberger has an extension next year, so what will be his contract?
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Probably more than I want to even think considering Ben has more rings than all of those guys...
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He will also be getting to that iffy age. If he gets another ring and there is a young prospect coming up in the draft, you have to consider cutting him loose instead of extending him.
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I have to disagree Count, he's only 30 or 31. He should have five or six seasons left in him. Even with the way he has been hit over the years, I don't think a quarterback at 31 is really even close to too old yet.Originally Posted by Count Steeler
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His contract doesn't end until 2016 (end of 2015 season, I believe). He has already re-structured twice and his cap numbers are already getting to 20mil/season.
He has not played a full season since 2008.
If the Steelers extend him at the end of this year, at these 25mil levels, they are really going to handcuff themselves with the cap situation. He is a 14m hit this season and just under 18m in 2014 and 2015. Add another 10mil? per season for a 33 year old QB, that has not played a complete season since 2008? I don't know, I think they are playing with fire.
The steelers must give an extension for that his cap hit be lower
And if the steelers draft a QB, I want it to be in the first round and it has to be a elite QB
The QB in the second and third round are very often average or terrible in the last 10 years
Russell Wilson and CK7(49ers) are the only exception
I really hope we get some relief with the new TV contracts. This damn flat cap for the last 3 years is really starting to hurt. I don't see how it can't go up and go up substantially (like the $17 million jump from 2005 to 2006, also a new TV contract year).
As expected, the networks will pay 63% more on average to air NFL games from 2014 to 2022.
NFL: The League That Runs TV
With that kind of a bump in revenue, how can the cap NOT go up?
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I sure hope so. Then Ben may get paid.
I want the Steelers to hold on to Ben until the bitter end, because frankly, that's a crapshoot and I remember the 22 years of suck we had at the position after Bradshaw all too well. For every Peyton Manning, there are dozens of Ryan Leafs. And do we really want to go 2-14 to get the first pick in the draft to even have a shot at an "elite" QB, who may not even pan out?
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To me, releasing a franchise caliber QB too soon is playing with fire moreso than holding on to him a year too long. It would suck if we cut him at 33 only to see him play until 37 and win another Super Bowl or two, ya know? But you make fair points.
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Like fs76 wrote, if the cap finally grows, I can see us holding Ben to the end of his career.
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I honestly don't think Ben will go there....my gut feeling.
Brady signed a deal that is cap friendly. Not all guys are money hungry. People want Keisel to be released, but his deal is not huge. Never really was. Hoke was another guy that just kept coming back for less than what he truly was worth. Polamalu has always been paid well, but I do not know if it was the Steelers making big offers out of respect or him pushing for big money. It never really was obscene and his last deal was cheap ($7M per season).
Some guys like where they are. Ben's wife is also from New Castle. I wonder if she would be interested in moving away from her family for a few more dollars. Not like he is poor.
It's the cost of having a good QB, a franchise QB. Pay him. No question about it...you pay him 20% of the cap, the team is still better than not having him at all.
Enthroned Into The Good Old Boys Club - 2024
Let me also add this....Ben just turned 31 in March. He has 2 years left on his deal. Now, the Steelers usually do QB deals with 2 seasons left. So, he will be 33 in his final season under contract and would turn 34 prior to hitting free agency.
The franchise tag cost this season was under $15M. It will rise in unison with the salary cap because that is how the CBA is set up. So, they could tag him in 2016 and 2017 before his tag number would jump to 144% of the previous year.
That means if Roethlisberger's contract demands are too great, they just do not extend and use the tag 2 seasons. It would carry him through age 35 and put him on the market at age 36. I doubt that those two tag numbers would top $20M a season. If they do, the cap has exploded and they can carry it anyway.
If he does not come with a deal that the team likes, just tag his ass.
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Thing is, for 22 years, we weren't even trying to find a franchise QB. We were trying to win without one or find one on the cheap. Hopefully we've wised up by now.
Having said that, if you have a legitimate franchise QB and you can keep him around, you'd be a fool not to. Still, I think we'll wait at least until after this season to mess with any contract stuff with him. If we don't do so well this season, as I halfway expect, that could give us some leverage to keep from falling into a Flacco trap.
By the way, I think that's what they should name it when you get stuck into overpaying your QB after he plays over his head in a contract year. Just like there's the Rooney Rule for interviewing coaches or the Hines Ward Rule about crackback blocks, getting stuck overpaying a mediocre QB is the Flacco Trap.
See you Space Cowboy ...
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Herein lies the problem though. Because Ben has restructured his contract so many times, and probably will again next season, the Steelers can't let him play out his contract and then tag him. By his last season of his contract his cap number could be approaching 20% of the entire cap. We will find out if Ben is "willing to deal" in the next few years, because he will have the Rooney's by the proverbial balls. Should be interesting.
Ben's restructures won't keep the Steelers from allowing him to play out his deal. He has his initial signing bonus come off the cap cost after this season. His cap hits for the final two seasons are $17.895M and $17.395M. The salary cap will increase next year because of the TV revenue. If it is only $125M, his largest cap percentage is only 14.3%, not even close to 20%.
He really has no leverage, especially since they have cleared more future room than they pushed forward. You also have to considered that guys like Clark, Keisel, and other higher salary players will be coming off the books. It is really not an issue.
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Well, don't forget we have at least one more season where he might have to restructure. I agree he probably won't approach 20 %, but I could see the cap hit over 20 million. Furthermore, there are some other players that we will have to resign in a few years as well. The Steelers will always be tight against the cap, because we like to resign our own.
I expect Ben to "play ball" because he needs those two more super Bowls to tie Bradshaw.
Last edited by oneforthetoe; 04-01-2013 at 02:25 PM.
100% agree with this. I don't ever wanna see Ben in another uniform and I think he has earned the right to a big contract and the right to stay till the end. Tommy Maddox? Kordell Stewart? It's nice waking up in the morning before a game and knowing that you might not have the best team around your QB but your QB is able to stay in and have a chance to win every game. Most teams don't have that.
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