In a game of Crowd Control; Steelers 1, Ben Roethlisberger 1!

[Dee Dub]

....couldn't resist.

[Slapstick]

His contract can be ripped up and re-done for a long term extension that creates cap space. But I do not believe the Steelers want to give him a new long term contract. He is going to be looking for one this off season as he has 2 years left on his current contract.

Flacco and Brady have had this done recently. In fact Flacco was a $14 million dollar hit prior to the new contract he got.

Personally, I believe that this rumor leaked is all about the fact that the Steelers know Ben is going to be looking for a new contract this off season and they do not want to give him what he will be asking for.

You can rip up the contract, but you can't make the prorated signing bonus disappear. While he does have a huge salary, much of his cap hit is bonus, which can't go away.

[Dee Dub]

You can rip up the contract, but you can't make the prorated signing bonus disappear. While he does have a huge salary, much of his cap hit is bonus, which can't go away.

Then how did Baltimore and New England do it?


Flacco was scheduled to count at $14.896 million on Baltimore’s salary cap at the start of the 2013 league year on March 12 without a new contract regardless of whether he received the non-exclusive or exclusive franchise tag.
Technically, Flacco’s contract is a four-year deal with options for the fifth and sixth contract years. The deal contains $52 million in guarantees, which consists of a $29 million signing bonus, a $15 million option bonus in 2014, a $7 million option bonus in 2015 and a $1 million injury guaranteed 2013 base salary. Flacco has unguaranteed $6 million, $4 million, $18 million, $20.6 million and $20 million base salaries in his 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 contract years.


Flacco’s $6.8 million 2013 cap number is comparable to the first year cap numbers in the contracts of Baltimore’s second and third highest-paid players. Ngata and Suggs had $7.1 million and $7.02 million first year cap numbers in their contracts. Flacco’s 2014 and 2015 cap numbers at $14.8 million and $14.55 million are quite reasonable.
Flacco’s low 2013 cap number should give the Ravens [URL="http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/The-NFPs-top50-free-agents-of-2013.html"]a better chance of re-signing[/URL] free agent inside linebacker Dannell Ellerbe, who is now Baltimore’s top priority. The Ravens are approximately $11.5 million under the cap after Flacco’s deal but must decide how many of their six restricted free agents will receive tenders in order to retain their rights. The restricted free agent tenders should take up between $7.315 million and $10.894 million of the cap depending on which tenders the players receive.

[URL]http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/A-comprehensive-look-at-Joe-Flaccos-contract.html[/URL]

It's called a double option bonus.

[Dee Dub]

[URL="http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1510117/flaccodeal.jpg"][/URL][URL="http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2013/3/23/4132862/blame-the-120-million-man"]

http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2013/3/23/4132862/blame-the-120-million-man[/URL]

[Dee Dub]

We need to stop thinking that trading Ben is impossible due to his cap hit.

Ben is going to want to be paid like Flacco. The Steelers cannot afford to do so. They need to come to an agreement about a new contract extension (one that is back end loaded), and find a trade partner that is acceptable to both parties.

[feltdizz]

We will probably extend Ben with a contract like the Pats gave Brady.

[Dee Dub]

We will probably extend Ben with a contract like the Pats gave Brady.

Is that the best thing for this franchise to do? Is Ben going to last that long? He is already on a decline as far as performance is concerned the past few years. Ben has been sack 35 times already this year.

[feltdizz]

Is that the best thing for this franchise to do? Is Ben going to last that long? He is already on a decline as far as performance is concerned the past few years. Ben has been sack 35 times already this year.

Ben is a big boy. He is having a rough season but our OL and OC are to blame for our woes on offense.

I'm not worried about the number of sacks because Ben always has a high sack number and half of them are due to his style of play.

What about extending him like Brady... isn't that more realistic than a Flacco contract since Ben already had his 108 mill payday?

[flippy]

Is that the best thing for this franchise to do? Is Ben going to last that long? He is already on a decline as far as performance is concerned the past few years. Ben has been sack 35 times already this year.

If Ben doesn't have anything left, why would another team give up the farm to trade for him?

[Slapstick]

We need to stop thinking that trading Ben is impossible due to his cap hit.

It isn't impossible, it's just stupid.

You cannot get rid of the signing bonuses on Ben's current contract.

Joe Flaccid's contract is a new contract. Notice how on your chart the first year is 2013? Well, Ben is nearing the end of his current contract...

There is nothing that can be done about the bonus money on his current contract...the only thing that could be done is a post June 1st cut, which will spread the cap hit over two years...but, on way or another, it's on the cap...