Will Ben Roethlisberger return to the Steelers? Pittsburgh wants to return, but contract stands in the way

Vince McMahon put it better: it’s all about the money.

Granted, in the later stages of his career, Ben Roethlisberger is entering the final year of his current contract with the Steelers, and many expect “Big Ben” to return to Steel City for at least one more season. However, there is one major hurdle that needs to be overcome in order for this to happen, one that can see the player and the team facing this offseason: the money they are owed.

“Ben wants to come back,” said team president Art Rooney II during his season-end Zoom call. We left this door open. I think we’ve been frank with Ben in letting him know that we couldn’t find him under the current contract. I think he understands that we have work to do there.

“We’ll have more conversations internally, and we’ll have more conversations with Ben, and we’ll have to know what’s the limit to finalize some of these decisions … But, like we said, there’s a lot of work to do. be done if it can happen; it may take decisions at both ends to make this happen.

That cap stands at $ 41,250,000 in 2021, but the team owes Roethlisberger $ 19,000,000 next season with his base salary and bonuses included in that amount.

The Steelers have several key free agents this offseason, including p asser Bud Dupree, wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, meaning the Steelers will have to manipulate their salary cap situation to keep the squad. united for one last race. , if they wish, and if Roethlisberger agrees to play ball under contract.

Roethlisberger, to his credit, seems willing to do whatever it takes to make the Steelers happy:

Pittsburgh just suffered a preliminary round loss to the Browns after a 12-4 regular season that flirted with an unbeaten 11-week record. So well Roethlisberger fue ciertamente parte de ese éxito, algunos cuestionan su viabilidad a largo plazo como titular, dejando a Rooney ya la principal oficina de los Steelers en la incómoda situación de tener que encontrar al heredero aparente como mariscal de campás en esta, quiz low season.

“I think when you look at our venue we’ll have to add someone to the venue this offseason,” Rooney said, via ESPN. “We will see all the opportunities we have to make it happen.”

Ben Roethlisberger contract

Roethlisberger is in the final season of his two-year, $ 68 million contract extension with the Steelers and is capped at $ 41,250,000 by 2021. While the team want Roethlisberger to return, that number is currently difficult to navigate. some key players and also doing team upgrades.

The most likely outcome is that the team and Roethlisberger will restructure their deal in such a way as to allow that cap of $ 41,250,000 to spread over the next season or two, lowering that number and allowing the team to bypass. more easily financial constraints.

Spotrac currently has the Steelers above the limit at nearly $ 30,000,000, which means they will have to make key decisions regarding contracts and the like to meet the limit.