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Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said on Wednesday that he is not fully aware of the dynamics in relation to the charge by defender Ben Roethlisberger in 2021.
“I don’t have a clear assessment of the overall impact of the boundary’s ramifications, so I may not have a direct answer to your question,” said Tomlin. “But I think it is reasonable to assume that there is a chance that he will come back, for sure. The depths of the ramifications of the discussions about the limit, I am not aware of, while I am sitting here now. “
If Tomlin is reading this, here’s the reality: Roethlisberger’s maximum figure for 2021 is $ 41.25 million.
If Roethlisberger retires, it will still be $ 22.25 million. The challenge becomes, if Ben continues his career, proposing an extension that, in practice, will put the final charge at between $ 22.25 million and $ 41.25 million.
The $ 22.75 million represents the floor, as it is the final installment of your most recent signing bonus ($ 12.5 million) and your most recent restructuring bonus ($ 9.75 million). Roethlisberger wins a $ 15 million list bonus on the third day of the 2021 league year, along with a base salary of $ 4 million during the regular season. Flexibility comes from reconfiguring that $ 19 million in amounts that apply to the current and future limits.
With a minimum wage of $ 1.075 million for players with seven or more years of experience, Steelers could convert $ 17.925 million into a subscription bonus that would be distributed over time. The question then is how much of that amount will apply to 2021 and how much will apply to future years.
For example, if the Steelers give Ben a new four-year contract with three fictitious years, they can split the $ 17.925 million into four equal parts of $ 4.48 million each. This would take the 2021 ceiling to $ 26.73 million and push $ 13.44 million into future years. So, if 2021 becomes your last year, the $ 13.44 million charge will apply in 2022.
While $ 26.73 million doesn’t hurt as much as $ 41.25 million, it’s still a significant cap cost. And remember this: Ben would have to agree to a new deal. If he says, “I’m just going to honor my contract,” the Steelers would have to decide whether to pay him $ 15 million on March 19 or cut it.
In this scenario, he would be guaranteed not to owe Pittsburgh any of the $ 12.5 million in cash from the unearned subscription bonus.
If cut, would Ben Roethlisberger play for another team? Probably not, but we would have said the same thing about Brett Favre and Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers and Tom Brady.
So these are the options: retiring, returning the remaining business, extending the contract to withdraw the maximum amount, or tearing up the rest of the contract and making Ben a free agent for the first time in his career.