Are the Pittsburgh Steelers going to get quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signed to a contract extension by the time his $5 million roster bonus becomes due? While many of us expect that to happen, it apparently hasn’t happened yet and it remains a fluid situation as of Friday afternoon, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, who adds that no new deal is imminent at the time of this post.
Roethlisberger’s contract calls for him to receive a $5 million roster bonus on the third day of the 2019 league year. Signing him to an extension prior to that roster bonus maturation date would allow the Steelers to add that $5 million Roethlisberger’s owed, along with a good chunk of the $12 million base salary he’s due in 2019, into one giant signing bonus as part of the new contract.
The Steelers could obviously sign Roethlisberger to a contract extension after his roster bonus is on the books for 2019, but it would make a little more sense to get that deal done now and especially if the team wants more salary cap space to work with thus season. Theoretically, I suppose the team could ask Roethlisberger to delay the roster bonus due date to give the two sides more time to work on an extension, but there’s yet to be any sign that will happen.
If for some reason the Steelers fail to work out a contract extension with Roethlisberger between now and the start of the 2019 regular season, it’s likely the team would have to place the franchise tag on the quarterback next offseason and perhaps the following offseason as well. Roethlisberger’s current contract expires after the 2019 season.
A new extension for Roethlisberger, should one get done this offseason, would likely include a new money average of $28-$30 million and result in the quarterback being either the second or third highest-paid at his position in the NFL.
Stay tuned.
