Our last post (
"Steelers' plans for extending Roethlisberger's contract") generated a lot of reader comments here at
The Steelyard. While everyone seemed to agree that the Steelers should extend
Big Ben's deal, no one could seem to agree "when" would be the right time. So maybe it's time to go over some of the ramifications of keeping Roethlisberger in the fold long-term.
This season Roethlisberger's base salary is just a shade over one million dollars and his salary cap charge is $2.276 million. In 2008 he is scheduled to earn $1.357 million (cap charge $2.627 million), and in 2009 $1.707 million (cap charge $2.977 million). (These scheduled cap charges are lower than they will be in actual fact, but only an insider would know what contract bonuses Ben is earning; those have to be added after-the-fact). Regardless, the point is that
right now Roethlisberger is a bargain relative to his performance. As soon as he signs an extension he is going to be very expensive, and that will have ramifications in terms of the Steelers' ability to sign and retain other players.
So contrary to what some fans seem to believe, extending Roethlisberger's contract is NOT going to free up money or cap space. In fact, the impending change in Ben's contract status has already been affecting the Steelers' player-personnel moves for some time now. Going forward the Steelers will not be able to re-sign certain veterans (
Alan Faneca being the first "victim" of this) or bid for certain free agents because Roethlisberger will be taking up a much larger percentage of the team's cap. In the future, some veterans will also lose their jobs to unproven (i.e., less expensive) rookies for the very same reason.
So will the Steelers end up re-signing Roethlisberger two years early? Yes, probably. It's good for Ben because he would receive more money (and more
guaranteed money) sooner rather than later. And it's good for the organization because it would establish long-term certainty in regards to the all-important starting QB position. But since one never knows what will happen on the injury/health front it has the drawback of committing a lot of money and cap space prematurely. And we all know that Roethlisberger is not exactly the second coming of
Peyton Manning in terms of health and durability.
One need look no further than the
AFC North to illustrate the risks of re-doing a contract early: Recall that the Bengals re-worked
Carson Palmer's deal just three-and-half seasons into his six-year rookie contract. A few months later Palmer tore knee ligaments in that memorable playoff game against the Steelers. In hindsight, I'm sure Cincinnati wishes it had negotiated a new deal after he suffered the injury.
Prediction: Most likely not much will happen in terms of serious negotiations until next summer. If I had to guess I'd say Pittsburgh will aim to re-sign Roethlisberger in late August or early September 2008, as the organization will want to make sure he survives next year's training camp and exhibition season without a major injury before committing megabucks to him. At the same time, it wouldn't totally shock me if they decided to wait until after the 2008 season.
As to size of the contract, I won't even try to speculate. But one can be sure it will be, by far, the largest contract in Steelers' history and shatter the team record for largest signing bonus. As always, comments are appreciated.
Labels: Ben Roethlisberger, Big Ben, Carson Palmer, Peyton Manning
