Curious as to how much his $40 Million was cut, or if it was spread over two years. The Steelers had to get creative with this one. Half of Ben is better than anything they have now.
Very surprised the Steelers decided this (it was last week, actually). I would have cut bait.
I have always liked Ben's game, but unless he changes his off-season training habits and realizes he's no longer 25, I think he's very close to tipping over for good...
Ben already has F.U. levels of money in the bank, he doesn't need to play nice. He can dare them to cut him. He's not negotiating from a position of desperation
Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
22m
Ben Roethlisberger willingly reduced his pay to $14M from $19M in this final year of his contract and spread the cash payment through 2022, per source. It lowered the cap hit by over $15M, all so the team can make the right moves to be as competitive as possible this season.
Curious as to how much his $40 Million was cut, or if it was spread over two years. The Steelers had to get creative with this one. Half of Ben is better than anything they have now.
Ben's Cap number was $41 Million. $4 Million in base salary; 22.250 Million signing bonus proration; and then a $15 Million roster bonus.
If no years were added to the contract, then Ben took a pay cut. If he did not get new years added on, then his cap hit is $22.250 Million left over from previous signing bonuses + whatever his new salary is.
Now he has a new deal for 2. That's how that works. The player gets paid upfront in bonus cash, cash that originally would have been salary, and part of the hit gets deferred.
doesn’t actually say a year was added which is what confused me.
In any case, I would have moved on but it seems like this keeps them from having to reach on a QB right now and/or roll the dice with a different vet while having a SB roster.
Now hes going to make vet minimum in salary, and get the rest of about 13 mil? ina new signing bonus. The hit from that bonus gets spread out over voidable year, or years? Not sure what they did there yet.
Looks like ben left about 5 million on the table. Nicer guy than I would have been :)
Very surprised the Steelers decided this (it was last week, actually). I would have cut bait.
I have always liked Ben's game, but unless he changes his off-season training habits and realizes he's no longer 25, I think he's very close to tipping over for good...
You're surprised that a team decided to keep an aging but still effective QB?
Teams don't just cut QBs, let alone contending teams, unless the QB is terrible.
I am trying to come up with an instance over the years where a good contending team cut a championship caliber QB, even one aging like Ben.
And the only team I can come up with was the 93 (94 off-season) Giants, when they cut Simms.
Chiefs moved on from Smith, but Smith was never in the category of Simms. KC had Mahomes. Giants had Brown.
QBs usually walk away or their contract expires. I am sure I am missing one but you don't see good teams cut their starting QB very often unless there's a hot shot kid who can't sit any longer, waiting in the wings.
even if hindsight proved this to be a mistake. They had BRown. Former high pick.
Pitt has no one on their roster behind Ben. PErhaps they could sign a FA but who? Bridgewater isn't Ben on his best dat. They ain't getting Wilson or Watson without trading away a fortune.
Rock and a hard place. That's why teams dole out big contracts to QBs and that's why teams will cut the QB one year too late rather than one year too soon.
Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
22m
Ben Roethlisberger willingly reduced his pay to $14M from $19M in this final year of his contract and spread the cash payment through 2022, per source. It lowered the cap hit by over $15M, all so the team can make the right moves to be as competitive as possible this season.
Curious as to how much his $40 Million was cut, or if it was spread over two years. The Steelers had to get creative with this one. Half of Ben is better than anything they have now.
Ben's Cap number was $41 Million. $4 Million in base salary; 22.250 Million signing bonus proration; and then a $15 Million roster bonus.
If no years were added to the contract, then Ben took a pay cut. If he did not get new years added on, then his cap hit is $22.250 Million left over from previous signing bonuses + whatever his new salary is.
Yea, his "salary" went from $19M ($4M base + $15M roster bonus) to $14M and based on the updated OverTheCap #s, they're assuming vet min base salary (~$1M) with the remaining $13M basically paid as a signing bonus. Reduces his 2021 cap hit to ~$26M, but he'll count as $10M in dead money next year.
Now he has a new deal for 2. That's how that works. The player gets paid upfront in bonus cash, cash that originally would have been salary, and part of the hit gets deferred.
No, they added automatically voidable years to the end (per OTC), which is rare but becoming more common. Essentially, Big Ben is automatically "cut" at the end of the 2021 league year. In this case, they basically guarantee all of Ben's money (his $15M roster bonus was not gtd, not sure about his base salary prior to this).
even if hindsight proved this to be a mistake. They had BRown. Former high pick.
Pitt has no one on their roster behind Ben. PErhaps they could sign a FA but who? Bridgewater isn't Ben on his best dat. They ain't getting Wilson or Watson without trading away a fortune.
Rock and a hard place. That's why teams dole out big contracts to QBs and that's why teams will cut the QB one year too late rather than one year too soon.
You are forgetting they have Hopkins... ;)
It's not their nature, but I would have gone into the "Take for Sam (Howell)" mode if I was Pittsburgh for 2021.
They have to be thinking their D is Super Bowl caliber (which a case can be made) and it's worth the stretch for one more year to see Matt Canada can get Ben on one more magic carpet ride...
Teams which are seemingly in "cap hell" always find a way to get it done. Just a game of numbers, which can be manipulated to get things accomplished. I really pay little attention to the "cap space" lists, because a clever team can get their business done by using the rules. Clearly, they wanted Ben back and they made it happen.
I think it usually comes down to the team and the player come to the realization that it is over. Sometimes the team decides first and the 'decision' by the player follows and he retires prior to being cut or not re-signed. In the case of the Steelers, while they are one of the best run franchises they never planned for life after Ben so now they have to march out this guy who is significantly limited at this point.
“They should trade Jones for Ben. That would be a great move for Jints Central.”
-bw in dc
I have always liked Ben's game, but unless he changes his off-season training habits and realizes he's no longer 25, I think he's very close to tipping over for good...
@AdamSchefter
·
22m
Ben Roethlisberger willingly reduced his pay to $14M from $19M in this final year of his contract and spread the cash payment through 2022, per source. It lowered the cap hit by over $15M, all so the team can make the right moves to be as competitive as possible this season.
Ben's Cap number was $41 Million. $4 Million in base salary; 22.250 Million signing bonus proration; and then a $15 Million roster bonus.
If no years were added to the contract, then Ben took a pay cut. If he did not get new years added on, then his cap hit is $22.250 Million left over from previous signing bonuses + whatever his new salary is.
Ahh, I thought he had 1 year left not 2. Makes sense now.
In any case, I would have moved on but it seems like this keeps them from having to reach on a QB right now and/or roll the dice with a different vet while having a SB roster.
Looks like ben left about 5 million on the table. Nicer guy than I would have been :)
I have always liked Ben's game, but unless he changes his off-season training habits and realizes he's no longer 25, I think he's very close to tipping over for good...
You're surprised that a team decided to keep an aging but still effective QB?
Teams don't just cut QBs, let alone contending teams, unless the QB is terrible.
And the only team I can come up with was the 93 (94 off-season) Giants, when they cut Simms.
Chiefs moved on from Smith, but Smith was never in the category of Simms. KC had Mahomes. Giants had Brown.
QBs usually walk away or their contract expires. I am sure I am missing one but you don't see good teams cut their starting QB very often unless there's a hot shot kid who can't sit any longer, waiting in the wings.
Pitt has no one on their roster behind Ben. PErhaps they could sign a FA but who? Bridgewater isn't Ben on his best dat. They ain't getting Wilson or Watson without trading away a fortune.
Rock and a hard place. That's why teams dole out big contracts to QBs and that's why teams will cut the QB one year too late rather than one year too soon.
Quote:
Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
·
22m
Ben Roethlisberger willingly reduced his pay to $14M from $19M in this final year of his contract and spread the cash payment through 2022, per source. It lowered the cap hit by over $15M, all so the team can make the right moves to be as competitive as possible this season.
Nice PR spin from his agent!
Quote:
Curious as to how much his $40 Million was cut, or if it was spread over two years. The Steelers had to get creative with this one. Half of Ben is better than anything they have now.
Ben's Cap number was $41 Million. $4 Million in base salary; 22.250 Million signing bonus proration; and then a $15 Million roster bonus.
If no years were added to the contract, then Ben took a pay cut. If he did not get new years added on, then his cap hit is $22.250 Million left over from previous signing bonuses + whatever his new salary is.
Yea, his "salary" went from $19M ($4M base + $15M roster bonus) to $14M and based on the updated OverTheCap #s, they're assuming vet min base salary (~$1M) with the remaining $13M basically paid as a signing bonus. Reduces his 2021 cap hit to ~$26M, but he'll count as $10M in dead money next year.
Link - ( New Window )
No, they added automatically voidable years to the end (per OTC), which is rare but becoming more common. Essentially, Big Ben is automatically "cut" at the end of the 2021 league year. In this case, they basically guarantee all of Ben's money (his $15M roster bonus was not gtd, not sure about his base salary prior to this).
Pitt has no one on their roster behind Ben. PErhaps they could sign a FA but who? Bridgewater isn't Ben on his best dat. They ain't getting Wilson or Watson without trading away a fortune.
Rock and a hard place. That's why teams dole out big contracts to QBs and that's why teams will cut the QB one year too late rather than one year too soon.
You are forgetting they have Hopkins... ;)
It's not their nature, but I would have gone into the "Take for Sam (Howell)" mode if I was Pittsburgh for 2021.
They have to be thinking their D is Super Bowl caliber (which a case can be made) and it's worth the stretch for one more year to see Matt Canada can get Ben on one more magic carpet ride...
I think it usually comes down to the team and the player come to the realization that it is over. Sometimes the team decides first and the 'decision' by the player follows and he retires prior to being cut or not re-signed. In the case of the Steelers, while they are one of the best run franchises they never planned for life after Ben so now they have to march out this guy who is significantly limited at this point.
Tomlin has been a good coach for them. But he is coming up on 15 years so I wonder if this is the end for both of them if they falter again.