USA TODAY Sport
It’s one thing for the Steelers to want to bring back quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for another year. It’s quite another that the Steelers want to pay him the full $ 19 million he has to make in 2021.
It is currently unclear whether the Steelers will try to make Roethlisberger take less money. If it’s simply a matter of moving money, it’s a simple proposition: Lower his total compensation from $ 19 million to the veteran minimum of $ 1.075 million and turn the rest into a signing bonus that can be spread over several years. As explained last month, a new four-year deal with three dummy years and a $ 17.925 million bonus would drop Roethlisberger’s 2021 limit from $ 41.25 million to $ 26.73 million.
That’s an easy approach, one that gives Roethlisberger every penny he needs to earn and minimizes his main load. It’s not something that requires meetings and conferences and anything but an email or two between team and agent.
So it’s fair to wonder if the Steelers want to cut Roethlisberger’s fee for 2021 to below the $ 19 million he should be making. While Roethlisberger has said he doesn’t care about his salary, he certainly does. (He should.) So how less is he willing to take before drawing a line in the sand?
Another option would be to convert part of his 2021 salary into a so-called “unlikely earned” premium, allowing the ceiling to be pushed back to 2021 – if Roethlisberger meets the trigger (s) for the payment. That could be a middle ground that gives Roethlisberger a way to make the full $ 19 million if he performs at a high enough level.
However it ends, if it were easy to come up with a new contract for Roethlisberger, it would already be over. Until it has happened, it is reasonable to wonder if a deadlock will eventually be reached.
However it plays, the clock is ticking. Roethlisberger will earn a roster bonus of $ 15 million on March 19. Whatever the team and player do, they have to do it by March 19th.
Actually, they should do it by 4:01 p.m. ET on March 17th. That’s when the Steelers need to be below the 2021 limit (whatever it is), and when Roethlisberger will count under his current deal at $ 41.25 million.