USA TODAY Sports
It is one thing for the Steelers to want to bring quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back for another year. It is quite another thing for the Steelers to want to pay him all the $ 19 million he is expected to earn in 2021.
It is currently unclear whether the Steelers will try to get Roethlisberger to receive less money. If it is simply a matter of moving money, it is an easy proposition: reduce your total salary from $ 19 million to the veteran minimum of $ 1.075 million and turn the rest into a subscription bonus to be distributed over several years. As explained last month, a new four-year deal with three fictitious years and a $ 17.925 million bonus would reduce Roethlisberger’s maximum 2021 number from $ 41.25 million to $ 26.73 million.
This is an easy approach, which gives Roethlisberger every penny he must earn and which minimizes the burden of his limit. It is not something that should require meetings and conferences and nothing more than an email or two between the team and the agent.
So it is fair to ask whether the Steelers want to reduce Roethlisberger’s compensation to 2021 below the $ 19 million he is expected to earn. Although Roethlisberger said he doesn’t care about his salary, he certainly does. (He should.) So, how much less is he willing to accept before he draws a line in the sand?
Another possibility would be to convert part of his 2021 payment into the so-called “unlikely to be won” incentive, allowing the ceiling to be pushed to 2021 – if Roethlisberger fulfills the trigger (s) for the payment. This could be a middle ground that gives Roethlisberger a way to win all $ 19 million if he acts at a high enough level.
Regardless of how it happens, if it were easy to find a new contract for Roethlisberger, it would already be done. Until this is done, it is fair to imagine whether an impasse will eventually be reached.
In any case, time is passing. Roethlisberger is expected to earn a $ 15 million list bonus on March 19. Whatever the team and the player do, they need to do it before March 19.
In fact, they need to do this before 4:01 pm ET on March 17. That’s when the Steelers are expected to be below the 2021 limit (whatever it may be), and when Roethlisberger under his current deal will have $ 41.25 million.