Art Rooney II releases statement in regards to Ben Roethlisberger’s future

On Tuesday, Steelers team present Art Rooney II and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger met in order to discuss his future with the Steelers going forward. On Wednesday, Rooney released an official statement about the meeting through Steelers Director of Communication Burt Lauten:

Reports about Tuesday’s meetings between the two parties where are the things “went well.” On Wednesday, Rooney confirmed reports that both sides wish to have Roethlisberger continue with the Steelers moving forward.

On Monday evening, Ben Roethlisberger’s agent released a statement that the two sides will be working together in order to creatively adjust Roethlisberger’s contract in order to build the best team possible for 2021. Roethlisberger‘s agent, Ryan Tollner, also went on to say the conclusion to the 2020 season did not sit well with the Steelers quarterback and he has plenty of “gas in the tank” moving forward.

The biggest issue looming with Ben Roethlisberger is his $41.25 million salary cap hit for 2021 as his contract stands today. $22.25 million of Roethlisberger‘s deal is in dead money and cannot be deferred any farther and will be due this season. The other $19 million is divided into a $15 million signing bonus due on March 20 and a $4 million base salary.

The large dead money hit for Roethlisberger‘s contract is not of his own making as the Steelers chose to restructure his contract for the 2020 season in order to free up cap space.

Exactly how the two sides will come together on a contract remains to be seen, and other factors such as the NFL adding a 17th regular-season game could be a factor in how the contract needs to be structured. Regardless, it seems both sides are moving towards the same goal of a Roethlisberger return for next season. The only question remains is if the numbers can make sense for both sides.

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