The Pittsburgh Steelers signed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a two-year contract extension earlier this week and the numbers and structure related to that deal have now surfaced.
According to Ian Whetstone of Steel City Insider, Roethlisberger will earn $45 million in 2019 and amount is made up of a $2.5 million base salary, the $5 million roster bonus he earned in March and ad a $37.5 million signing bonus. The final two years of Roethlisberger’s new contract calls for him to earn base salaries of $8.5 million and $4 million in 2020 and 2021, respectively. He also has roster bonuses due in those two years of $12.5 million and $15 million, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.
To go with the $45M he’ll make this year–$37.5M signing bonus, $2.5M base salary, and the $5M roster bonus earned back in March–Ben Roethlisberger will make $21M in 2020 and $19M in 2021. His salary cap hits will be $26.2M this year, $33.5M next year, and $31.5M in 2021.
— Ian Whetstone (@IanWhetstone) April 26, 2019
The result of Roethlisberger’s extension has the quarterback now counting $26.2 million against the Steelers salary cap in 2019. That’s a $3 million increase over what he was originally set to count against the salary cap in 2019 prior to his contract extension. Included in that $26.2 million cap charge is a previous bonus proration amount of $6.2 million. Roethlisberger’s cap charges in 2020 and 2021 are now $33.5 million and $31.5 million, respectively.
Prior to signing his contract extension, Roethlisberger was scheduled to earn $17 million in 2019 and that number included the $5 million roster bonus and a $12 million base salary.
Roethlisberger’s roster bonuses in 2020 and 2021 are likely due a few days into each new league year in March.
Currently, the Steelers are listed as having $3,201,131 in available 2019 salary cap space on the NFLPA site. Prior to Roethlisberger signing his extension that that amount was $6,201,131.
| YEAR | BASE SALARY | BONUS PRORATION | ROSTER BONUS | CAP CHARGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | $2,500,000 | $18,700,000 | $5,000,000 | $26,200,000 |
| 2020 | $8.500,000 | $12,500,000 | $12,500,000 | $33,500,000 |
| 2021 | $4,000,000 | $12,500,000 | $15,000,000 | $31,500,000 |
