Tim Benz: Ben Roethlisberger’s new contract may not be the general solution that some are anticipating

Tim Benz: Ben Roethlisberger’s new contract may not be the general solution that some are anticipating

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Let’s get the mechanics right while we talk about Ben Roethlisberger’s new Pittsburgh Steelers Contract. So, we’ll see what it all means.

Because the words we use – and how we choose them – to describe Big Ben’s big decision are important to properly frame what will happen next at the free agency for the team.

Most major NFL salary cap study establishments and NFL insiders agree on the money and language reconfigured in Roethlisberger’s contract.

Roethlisberger reportedly earned $ 19 million in real money this season ahead of Thursday’s news. Now he will withdraw $ 14 million.

When people say he is accepting a $ 5 million cut in payment and is helping the team from a cash and allocation point of view, adhering to four annulable years for the business, that’s all true.

Roethlisberger is doing a good thing here.

But before we give Big Ben a humanitarian award, let’s understand that by losing $ 5 million in cash, he will also be protecting $ 14 million. Because if he didn’t agree to cut his wages to some extent, the Steelers would have been forced to cut him down entirely.

The quarterback is basically eating $ 5 million, so he can still earn $ 14 million. In addition, he buys a great deal of goodwill in Pittsburgh. It is not a bad price for someone who has already earned $ 253 million in career earnings.

Furthermore, this is not exactly unprecedented. In 2015, Peyton Manning did the same thing – with very similar dollar values ​​- in Denver. Also, adding voidable years to the deal is not too risky for a guy who is unlikely to play anywhere other than Pittsburgh, or beyond this contract.

But this is just a small exchange of money between a billion dollar franchise and its $ 250 million employee.

The real number that matters is the $ 15 million in limit space for this year that has been released.

For this year.

No one seems to want to talk about the $ 10.3 million that will still count against the books next year if Roethlisberger retires before 2022. It is not an overwhelming amount. But it will be there.

At least now, the Steelers are no longer in the “hell of the lid”. In fact, using the estimated $ 180 million cap for the entire OverTheCap.com league, they are $ 3 million over the limit at this point.

With future restructuring by other veterans, Steelers will not have to expunge as many people from their roster as it seemed to be the case a few weeks ago.

But part of yesterday’s dialogue started to drift towards hyperbole. Suddenly, there seems to be a vibe around town that general manager Kevin Colbert can start spending like a drunken sailor because Roethlisberger’s deal has been completed.

If you join Twitter now, Steeler Nation seems to be of the opinion that:

• The franchise can now retain JuJu Smith-Schuster and / or Bud Dupree.

• They will re-sign with Matt Feiler and Alejandro Villanueva along the offensive line or both.

• They will keep agents free Cameron Sutton, Mike Hilton and Tyson Alualu on defense.

• They won’t have to cut Joe Haden, Steven Nelson or Vince Williams.

• They can even add more than that, choosing a center at the free agency to replace retired Maurkice Pouncey.

This is simply not the case. At least not until they get a significant space with much more restructuring. And yet, this is still optimistic, unless recent ceiling projections are remarkably low.

Remember, the maximum number for Roethlisberger is still $ 25.9 million. His dead money charge, if it had been cut, would have been $ 22 million. Essentially, the Steelers are saying that Roethlisberger is worth $ 4 million more in dollars of maximum space to have on the list, as opposed to the tightness they would feel at his absence.

This is not much. And putting it that way, I agree. I think that. Although Roethlisberger’s last six weeks of 2020 give me a break.

Especially since this was a very clear opportunity for the Steelers to retain at least one more player if Roethlisberger was cut and to start a much-needed reconstruction process, while also taking a look to see if Mason Rudolph is worth keeping in the past year of his contract. also.

Part of the narrative in recent weeks was that Colbert would be able to put a better product around Roethlisberger if he accepted a cut in pay. I’m sorry, but I don’t see how these mass additions are going to happen. I just see it as a way to avoid multiple subtractions.

I still argue that the best scenario is to keep last year’s team together as much as possible. That’s it. And based on how this club hobbled to the finish line in 2020, how good is that scenario?

Those who wanted Roethlisberger to have a victory lap of a season, had their wish fulfilled. Those who expected significant changes at Steelers did not. And those who think Roethlisberger’s restructured contract will lead to drastic improvements are mistaken.

But I think the $ 5 million that Roethlisberger left on the table bought something else from the fan base besides goodwill.

A healthy dose of blind faith.

Tim Benz is a staff writer for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets can be posted again. All emails are subject to publication, unless otherwise specified.

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Sports | Steelers / NFL | Breakfast with Benz

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