The status quo will remain for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a defender in 2021. Ryan Tollner, Ben Roethlisberger’s agent, confirmed Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network that the club really wants the defender back as a starter for next season and that both sides are committed to reducing their success to put a competitive club around them. Tollner added that Roethlisberger was not satisfied with how the Pittsburgh season came to an end in 2020, which lit a fire under QB as he approaches his 39-year season.
“They want Ben back and will contact me shortly to resolve the situation with his cap,” Tollner told Kinkhabwala. “As we’ve shared since the end of the season, we’re happy to creatively adjust their contract to help them form the best team possible. A year ago, Ben wasn’t sure he could launch again, but he struggled to get 12 wins and the title of the 8th division of his career. They lost their breath in the final stretch and it didn’t go down well for him, so the fire burns strongly and there is a lot of gas in the tank. ”
The news of Roethlisberger’s return to the Steelers in 2021 came following a meeting the quarterback had with team president Art Rooney II, who reportedly went well. Roethlisberger’s future in Pittsburgh seemed to be on the ice just last week, when Steelers GM Kevin Colbert was very outspoken about the veteran’s plight.
“While we’re sitting here today, Ben is a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert told reporters at the time. “He reiterated that he wants to continue playing. We told him that we have to look at the current situation.”
Rooney also admitted to reporters that the club “could not get him back with the current contract”.
To avoid a possible divorce, Roethlisberger made it very clear that he “would do everything he could” to be creative with his contract and reduce that number, which Tollner reiterated in his most recent statement.
While Roethlisberger has only a base salary of $ 4 million and a $ 15 million list bonus for 2021, the big problem is his $ 41.25 million limit reached. Joel Corry of CBS Sports detailed last month that the reason Pittsburgh has such a massive limit for Roethlisberger next season is because of a maneuver they did last season. At that time, the club reduced its 2020 success from $ 33.5 million to $ 23.75 million, converting $ 19.5 million of its $ 21 million compensation for the 2020 season into a subscription bonus. Because of this change, its maximum number for 2021 increased by $ 9.75 million. As Tollner noted, the two sides will soon start working to bring that figure to a more palatable level for Pittsburgh, which is entering an off-season in which the wage ceiling is expected to fall from 2020.
The 2021 season will be the 18th year of Roethlisberger’s career. Similar to the previous 17, No. 18 will be in a Steelers uniform.