As things stand right now, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be retiring at some point this offseason. If his contract voids after the Super Bowl, the Steelers would take on a dead money charge in 2022 in the amount of $10.34 million. There are some 2022 cap savings to be had, however, should Roethlisberger agree to alter his deal in the very near future, as Over the Cap pointed out on Twitter Tuesday morning.
Basically, the void language in Roethlisberger’s contract would be removed so that the deal would not expire five days after the Super Bowl. Roethlisberger would then likely be on the books for a base salary in 2022 of $1.12 million and a total cap charge of $3.705 million.
Assuming Roethlisberger helps the team out that way, he could then officially retire after June 1, and in doing so, the remaining prorated bonus amount that would be left to be accounted for, $7.755 million, would then roll over into 2023 as a dead money charge.
So, the Steelers would essentially eat that $7.755 million in 2023 and not in 2022. The team would then initially save $6.635 million in 2022 salary cap space by going that route and then get back another $1.12 million in cap space after he officially retires after June 1, as they would not be paying him that amount as a base salary.
The Steelers have $10.34 million in bonus proration on the books for Roethlisberger because of them restructuring his contract last offseason after he agreed to take a $5 million pay cut. That restructure included the team adding four additional voidable years, all of which are reportedly set to void five days after the Super Bowl. That was all done to clear additional salary cap space in 2021.
With the Super Bowl now getting closer, we should find out fairly soon if this described route is the one the Steelers and Roethlisberger choose to go.
