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The Pittsburgh Steelers realize the new league year is coming next week, and there are orders of business which need tended to prior to them going out and trying to add players to their roster via free agency.
Getting players new contracts, and signing some of their own free agents would certainly top the to-do list. On Thursday evening, the organization did both.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports the Steelers gave Maurkice Pouncey a new contract making him the wealthiest center in the NFL:
Steelers and Pro-Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey have agreed to a three-year deal, averaging $11 million a year, making him the NFL’s highest-paid center, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 7, 2019
But shortly after that news broke, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the Steelers didn’t just give Pouncey a new deal, but also signed guard Ramon Foster to a new two-year contract as well:
Steelers have signed C @MaurkicePouncey to a new three-year, $29 million deal and G Ramon Foster to a two-year $8.25 million deal, per source. Pouncey had one year remaining on his contract; Foster was an unrestricted free agent.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) March 7, 2019
Per both Schefter and Dulac, Pouncey’s deal is worth a total of $29 million dollars over three years, giving him roughly $11 million dollars a year. Per Dulac, Foster’s deal is a two-year deal worth $8.25 million, giving him just north of what the Steelers will pay B.J. Finney who was recently tendered as a Restricted Free Agent.
It has long been known Maurkice Pouncey and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger are joined together as a unit. They both said they will play until the other calls it a career. With Roethlisberger due to get his own new contract soon, you might expect a new three year deal for him as well, considering both he and Pouncey still have one year left on their current contracts.
Roethlisberger always talks about how if his offensive line is coming back, he will be back. It looks as if the Steelers’ offensive line will remain intact heading into 2019, which should make the franchise quarterback mighty happy.
Stay tuned to BTSC for more on this story as it develops regarding the impact to the team’s salary cap, etc.