Contract Trouble Looming For Big Ben?

[86WARD]

Ben Roethlisberger doesn't want to think about The Decision. If the Steelers don't sign him to a new contract, might he play out the final season of his deal and become a free agent? "I have no clue," Roethlisberger said Tuesday. ... [Art Rooney II said] the Steelers are determined to have Roethlisberger play his entire career in Pittsburgh, and the quarterback said he intends to do exactly that, but no deal appears imminent. If a contract isn't finalized before the Sept. 7 opener against Cleveland, there would be no negotiations during the season, per team policy. Then the Steelers would be in the potentially precarious situation of having a franchise quarterback signed for only one more season. Even at age 34, as Roethlisberger would be entering free agency, he likely is to have multiple suitors.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

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I love how one website changes the title of the article to the thread title above (http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/418494-contract-trouble-looming-for-big-ben)

Yet the actual title of the article is:
QB Roethlisberger is eager to land new contract with Steelers

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/...#ixzz33IcRc1Pr

[salamander]

We need to sign him. Life without Ben is going to suck. Plus signing him to a new deal would probably free up cap space. What scares me is the amount of money he's going to want, especially given what he's accomplished.

[Devilsdancefloor]

Steelers need to sign him very soon

[stillers4me]

Just a bunch of shit stirrers.

Keep the faith, my children.

[Shoes]

Ben will retire as a Steeler…

[vader29]

Just a bunch of shit stirrers.

Keep the faith, my children.

The Shit Blizzard is coming.

[fansince'76]

Just a bunch of shit stirrers.

Keep the faith, my children.

Exactly. He's not going anywhere. There's been speculation every offseason since the Milledgeville incident that he's leaving.

[dislocatedday]

I'm sure they will get an extension done, even if it is not until next offseason. My only concern is how much will the Steelers end up spending to do so. It seems that every QB now thinks he is worth well over $15 million per season. I'm reading in the press (may not be true though) that Andy Dalton wants a contract the equal of Jay Cutler at $18 mill per season average, with guaranteed money similar to Cutler ($56 mil). Evidently Alex Smith thinks the Chiefs should be paying him $18 mil per year too.

It is getting ridiculous IMO. Ben is worth that kind of big money (these other guys are not in his league, and it is not even close). I'm hoping the Steelers and Ben can meet in the middle somewhere, and perhaps Ben will do like Brady and take less to help the team. I'm thinking a 4-year extension at right around $80M, with a large signing bonus would work (my best guess on what will happen).

[stillers4me]

Ben deserves to be paid. What other QB in this league would have been willing to take the beating that he has? And. Never. Complain.

[Shoes]

Ben deserves to be paid. What other QB in this league would have been willing to take the beating that he has? And. Never. Complain.

…and actually complement the O-line as he was being beat. I'm sure his wife wasn't in agreement with him tho.

[steelreserve]

I'm not worried that it'll get done; the only question is how much money. As said above, $18M seems to be the starting point for any starting QB with a pulse, so for a multiple Super Bowl winner I would expect it to be well above $20M. Maybe that comes down a bit because of the hometown thing, and the still lingering aftereffects on his reputation from a few years ago. So I'm going to say right around $20M is what it turns out to be. Ouch. That's a lot of money, but not really something you can cheap out on.

Side note: I would say about 3 more years is when we ought to be looking around for a real successor, which means if a good QB prospect falls to the low first round, we take him. Seems to happen about every other year. What we do NOT want to do is leave it until the very last minute and then get stuck in a reach situation (Ryan Tannehill, Jake Locker, Christian Ponder, Blaine Gabbert, etc.). I don't think we'll do that, but the other thing is that given how notoriously slow we are to draft certain positions, I'm also a little worried that we'll let it go for way too long - like, 5 years after Ben retires, we're still dicking around with 4th-round QB prospects and drafting all linemen in the first round. We probably still son't have a nose tackle by then either, and Ike Taylor will be the #1 starting CB at age 50.

[Dwinsgames]

Likelihood of him leaving is somewhere between slim and none ...


Ben wants to be here , Rooney said they want him here ....

top it off with the fact Ashley is from a short 45 min drive from the complex and now has children her folks will want to be close to .....

he is not going anywhere

[fansince'76]

...I'm also a little worried that we'll let it go for way too long - like, 5 years after Ben retires, we're still dicking around with 4th-round QB prospects and drafting all linemen in the first round.

I don't see us doing that either unless Cowher comes back.

[GBMelBlount]

The Shit Blizzard is coming.

LOL!!!!

I say 17 - 18 million.

The Rooneys are "cheap" you know.

Seriously though, I think another superbowl and Ben's place in history is more important to him than a few mil at this point in his career.

[Pittsburgh43]

They'll get a deal done, if it's not this offseason, it'll be next. I think it'll get done this summer though, right before training camp. There's several ways they could go in terms of offering extensions (Ben, Pouncey, Cortez) but the franchise QB has to be the top priority and the Steelers know that. Ben is a top 5 QB and you don't take any chances that would risk losing him to another team.

[tube517]

Drama queen game manager.

Sent from my GT-N7105 using Tapatalk

[86WARD]

Kaepernick reportedly signs six-year $126 million deal. $60 million guaranteed.

[GBMelBlount]

I think Ben's legacy and winning one more superbowl is more important to him than the money.

I say he takes one for the team and gives the Steelers a hometown discount.

[X-Terminator]

Kaepernick reportedly signs six-year $126 million deal. $60 million guaranteed.

Not good news for those who think Ben should play for peanuts in comparison. I'd say that's a starting point for his extension. As has already been mentioned, after all he has gone through and all of the punishment he has taken in his career, the least they can do is pay him what he's worth.

[Count Steeler]

I don't have a problem with Ben at 20-22 mil per year. Cap issues are subsiding and Ben is the man. Without him we don't sniff a SB for at least 5 years. Assuming we get another elite QB.

[86WARD]

Not good news for those who think Ben should play for peanuts in comparison. I'd say that's a starting point for his extension. As has already been mentioned, after all he has gone through and all of the punishment he has taken in his career, the least they can do is pay him what he's worth.

I wouldn't. I would say that is in the "second tier" deals. Ben's "starting point" should be above the Flacco neighborhood...and I would have no problem with that whatsoever...

[Bluecoat96]

With the cap supposedly going up over the next few years, we shouldn't have any problem paying Ben.

[X-Terminator]

I wouldn't. I would say that is in the "second tier" deals. Ben's "starting point" should be above the Flacco neighborhood...and I would have no problem with that whatsoever...

Aaron Rodgers makes $22 million per season and is the highest-paid QB in the league. So yeah, actually that would be a starting point. Do you really think he's worth as much or more than Rodgers? I don't.

[steelreserve]

I wouldn't. I would say that is in the "second tier" deals. Ben's "starting point" should be above the Flacco neighborhood...and I would have no problem with that whatsoever...

Flacco was way way WAY overpaid and I think everyone knows it. That's not a rational starting point for anything. QB pay seems to be $18M if you're breathing, $20-$22M if you're good, $25M if you're good and insistent on money, and no matter what, it has to be at least $100M total so you're not getting shown up by Tony Romo.

My guess is he gives us a "discount" but that it's to $20M a year ... 5 years/$100M, the first year of which replaces a year in which we have a cap hit of $18M but he's actually getting paid more like 12.

You know what else we need to get rid of? The policy of not negotiating during the season. I understand the POINT of it, but it's long past its usefulness. Some guys will get distracted by it, some won't, but the guys who would be distracted get distracted anyway. Everyone knows when it's their contract year and knows how much money other players are getting. All it's doing now is putting ourselves at a disadvantage for no reason. That's not meant so much to be about Ben this season, but for other players going into their contract years it's definitely done us no favors and put added pressure on us.

[X-Terminator]

Top 20 NFL QB salaries by average annual value:

1		Aaron Rodgers at Quarterback	$22,000,000
2		Matt Ryan at Quarterback	$20,750,000
3		Joe Flacco at Quarterback	$20,100,000
4		Drew Brees at Quarterback	$20,000,000
5		Peyton Manning at Quarterback	$19,200,000
6		Jay Cutler at Quarterback	$18,100,000
7		Tony Romo at Quarterback	$18,000,000
8		Matthew Stafford at Quarterback	$17,666,667
9		Eli Manning at Quarterback	$16,250,000
10		Philip Rivers at Quarterback	$15,300,000
11		Ben Roethlisberger at Quarterback	$14,664,417
12		Tom Brady at Quarterback	$14,120,000
13		Sam Bradford at Quarterback	$13,000,000
14		Alex Smith at Quarterback	$8,416,667
15		Carson Palmer at Quarterback	$8,000,000
16		Matt Schaub at Quarterback	$6,750,000
17		Andrew Luck at Quarterback	$5,527,000
18		Cam Newton at Quarterback	$5,506,375
19		Robert Griffin III at Quarterback	$5,279,775
20		Matt Cassel at Quarterback	$5,250,000

Source: http://www.spotrac.com/rankings/nfl/average/quarterback/

Now let's just think about this list for a second. Tony Romo, Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler, Matthew Stafford and Flacco all make more money than both Ben AND Marsha. Two guys (well, a guy and a tranny) with a combined 8 Super Bowl appearances and 5 championships in the past 13 seasons. And rumor has it that Alex Smith wants to be the next $20 million per year QB. Alex fucking Smith!!!

[86WARD]

Aaron Rodgers makes $22 million per season and is the highest-paid QB in the league. So yeah, actually that would be a starting point. Do you really think he's worth as much or more than Rodgers? I don't.

No. I would agree that he's not worth Rodgers. But he's going to want (and should get) more than Flacco...and obviously Flacco was overpaid due to the Super Bowl win...but I wouldn't be surprised if he got more than Rodgers...it's pretty much how those crazy contracts work...one just out does the other...lol.

[86WARD]

Flacco was way way WAY overpaid and I think everyone knows it. That's not a rational starting point for anything. QB pay seems to be $18M if you're breathing, $20-$22M if you're good, $25M if you're good and insistent on money, and no matter what, it has to be at least $100M total so you're not getting shown up by Tony Romo.

My guess is he gives us a "discount" but that it's to $20M a year ... 5 years/$100M, the first year of which replaces a year in which we have a cap hit of $18M but he's actually getting paid more like 12.

You know what else we need to get rid of? The policy of not negotiating during the season. I understand the POINT of it, but it's long past its usefulness. Some guys will get distracted by it, some won't, but the guys who would be distracted get distracted anyway. Everyone knows when it's their contract year and knows how much money other players are getting. All it's doing now is putting ourselves at a disadvantage for no reason. That's not meant so much to be about Ben this season, but for other players going into their contract years it's definitely done us no favors and put added pressure on us.

If your Ben's agent, you're not going to be "rational." You're going to put his resume up against Flacco's and win. Put his resume up against Matt Ryan and win. Put the resume up against Rodgers and really hold an argument...

Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right and definitely agree with the negotiating thing. Didn't they negotiate soemone miss-season not too long ago?

[Psycho Ward 86]

oh man...even with a hometown discount its looking like its going to cost us at least $20 million a year. cant blame the guy for a second, he's earned every penny. hope he goes the tom brady route though

[steel striker]

I'm sure this deal will get done and, I don't want to think about Ben not being here since he still has plenty playing years left.

[steelreserve]

If your Ben's agent, you're not going to be "rational." You're going to put his resume up against Flacco's and win. Put his resume up against Matt Ryan and win. Put the resume up against Rodgers and really hold an argument...

Don't get me wrong, I hope you're right and definitely agree with the negotiating thing. Didn't they negotiate soemone miss-season not too long ago?

The odds that Ben turns down $20M from us and goes to play for some random fuckass team have got to be pretty close to zero. All we've got to do is be reasonable and it'll get done.

What you might be thinking of is a couple years ago, when we gave Troy Polamalu a contract extension on the last day of the preseason. They'll do that, but after that, the door slams shut. Or more like we slam our own dick in the door.

oh man...even with a hometown discount its looking like its going to cost us at least $20 million a year. cant blame the guy for a second, he's earned every penny. hope he goes the tom brady route though

I don't understand ... you want him to start chasing the D?