Rooneys say they will appeal

[Steelhere10]

If any more action is from the NFL on Tomlin, and that Ben pretty much will retire a Steeler.

[hawaiiansteel]

Rooney hints that Steelers won’t try to extend Roethlisberger

Posted by Mike Florio on January 8, 2014



With cap numbers of $18.895 and $18.395 million, respectively, over the final two years of his current contract, most assume that the Steelers’ annual effort to create cap room via renegotiating quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s deal will entail a contract extension.

Owner Art Rooney II told a trio of reporters on Wednesday that there won’t necessarily be an extension.

Via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Rooney said that Roethlisberger knows “our intention is we want him here beyond this contact.” But Rooney added that the team possibly won’t extend the current contract in 2014 or 2015.

The Steelers have at times extended the contracts of starting quarterbacks with two years remaining. But Rooney said that’s “not set in stone . . . it’s not something that’s automatic.”

The shrewd message from Rooney is that the Steelers will find a way to carry Roethlisberger’s cap number if necessary, which means that he’d make only $12.1 million in base salary for 2014. And that undercuts Roethlisberger’s primary leverage for a contract that would pay him, if he had his way, at or close to market value of $18 million to $20 million per year.

If the Steelers keep Roethlisberger at $12.1 million in 2014 and $11.6 million in 2015, he’d be two years older — with two more years of wear and tear — when finally eligible to test the market. The downside would be that, if the Steelers wanted to use the franchise tag in 2016, he’d be entitled to a 20-percent raise of his $18.395 million cap number, which equates to $22.074 million.

Regardless, the message (for now) from the Steelers is that they don’t need to extend the deal (even if their cap situation otherwise says they do). Which would keep Roethlisberger’s pay for the coming year at only (only?) $12.1 million.

It’s also possible that the Steelers would ask him to do one more so-called “simple” restructuring, which would result in the conversion of a portion of his $12.1 million salary to an offseason signing bonus. Because only one year remains on the current deal, half the amount would count against this year’s salary cap, and the other half would hit the cap next year.

Of course, Roethlisberger could choose to decline to take a lump sum in the offseason, arguing instead that it’s time for an extension. If that would happen, things could quickly get interesting.

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/08/rooney-hints-that-steelers-wont-try-to-extend-roethlisberger/[/URL]

[Dee Dub]

Wonder what would happen if St. Louis offered the Steelers the 2nd, 13th, 44th overall pick this year and their #1 next year for Ben?

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Wonder what would happen if St. Louis offered the Steelers the 2nd, 13th, 44th overall pick this year and their #1 next year for Ben?

Won't happen, but if it did, hopefully the Steelers would tell the Rams to forget it. The best chance of getting back to the Super Bowl in the next 5 years is if Pittsburgh keeps Mr. Roethlisberger under center.

[Vindrow]

Actually, the Steelers are going to extend Ben's contract. I don't know why anyone believes anything that Florio says.


Steelers want to extend Big Ben

PITTSBURGH -- Steelers president Art Rooney II said a contract extension for Ben Roethlisberger will happen at some point, noting he wants the franchise quarterback to finish his career where he started it.

Ben Roethlisberger set a Steelers record for completions in a season (375) and became the franchise's all-time leader in touchdown passes (219) in 2013.
"We've got to have Ben retire as a Steeler," Rooney said Wednesday. "There's no doubt about that."

"When both sides are able to come together on an extension. I don't know when that will be, but there's no doubt we look at Ben as somebody who's going to be here for the long term and hopefully five or more years," Rooney said.

[URL="http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10264047/pittsburgh-steelers-hope-extend-ben-roethlisberger-contract"]http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/10...erger-contract[/URL]

[Eich]

I also see no reason why Ben wouldn't accept a restructuring this offseason if they don't get an extension done. The dude is rich beyond most everyone's wildest dreams. He as a dream job as the QB of the most winning franchise in history and it appears he's found a way to play productively AND stay healthy. He loves living in Pittsburgh and has put his roots there. He has a wife from Pittsburgh and soon to be two children. The only reason to be even remotely aggressive in any negotiations at this point is to give the agent something to do.

[ikestops85]

NO MORE RE-STRUCTURING. That is what has gotten us in the cap hell we are currently experiencing. Instead of re-structuring we are going to have to make decisions on high priced players whether to pay them or release them. We can't keep pushing the dollars further into the future. Hopefully the Steeler brass sees this.

[Discipline of Steel]

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- [URL="http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/teams/pit"]Pittsburgh Steelers[/URL] President Art Rooney II knows there are issues his team needs to address coming off a second straight 8-8 season.

It might not happen this year, though Rooney insists any decision to hold off will have nothing to do with Pittsburgh's intention to lock up the two-time Super Bowl winner for the remainder of his career.
''We look at Ben as somebody who is going to be here for the long-term, hopefully five or more years,'' Rooney said. ''We've got to have Ben retire as a Steeler, no doubt about that.''
The 31-year-old Roethlisberger is coming off one of his best statistical seasons. He set franchise records for attempts (584), completions (375) and had the second-highest total in club history with 4,261 yards passing. Even better, Roethlisberger took every snap for an offense that developed an identity when it used the no-huddle extensively over the final eight weeks.
Given more freedom to call the plays, Roethlisberger helped guide Pittsburgh to a 6-2 record over the second half of the year. He also became more adept at getting the ball out of his hands. Roethlisberger was sacked just seven times over the final seven games, compared to 36 sacks over the season's first nine weeks.
The performance left Rooney encouraged by what he saw as the relationship between Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Todd Haley deepened.
''I think the second year of a new offense you would hope for progress and I think that's what we got,'' Rooney said.
The Steelers averaged 23.7 points, nearly a field goal better than they averaged in 2012 and went over 20 points in each of their final nine games, the team's longest such streak in over a decade.
Though Rooney declined to comment specifically on the status of individual coaches he said ''we feel good about the coaching staff in general.'' Pittsburgh has already made one move, parting ways with offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. last week.
Haley has one year remaining on his contract, and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said at the end of the regular season he plans to be back in 2014 as his unit looks to rebound from its worst statistical season since 1992. The Steelers finished 13th in yards allowed, the first time they've been outside the top 10 in that category in 14 years. Pittsburgh tied for 25th with just 34 sacks and produced only 20 turnovers.
Rooney downplayed the advancing age of safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark and defensive end Brett Keisel - all of whom are in their 30s - as factors in the slide.
''We weren't good enough against the run ... we weren't good enough taking the ball away and rushing the passer,'' he said. ''There's things we need to improve on, whether it's age related or otherwise, I'm not too concerned about the age, it's just getting better. We'll be working hard on that this offseason.''
The Steelers will likely remain bystanders for big-priced free agents thanks to salary cap concerns, though there will be an emphasis on trying to retain some of the 21 unrestricted free agents. Linebacker Jason Worilds, who flourished when LaMarr Woodley went down with calf injuries, figures to be a high priority.
So is maximizing the draft. Rooney said the team has informed the NFL it plans to appeal any additional penalty levied by the league in the wake of Tomlin's ill-time two-step onto the field in Baltimore on Thanksgiving night. The league fined Tomlin $100,000 and said it would consider stripping Pittsburgh of a draft pick after the draft order has been set.
Rooney believes any more discipline would be too much.
''As far as we're concerned it had no impact on that game or no impact on the playoffs and no reason for that to be revisited at this point,'' Rooney said. ''Mike has paid the price and as far as we're concerned it should be behind us.''
So, Rooney hopes, is a two-year stretch of watching the playoffs on television. He believes his team is closer to the one that was among the NFL's best over the second half of the year than the one that limped to an 0-4 and 2-6 start.
''I like the way we finished,'' he said. ''I liked the way the offense progressed. I certainly like the way a lot of the younger players show that they have a good future and I think that bodes well for us. I think we're excited about getting started on next year.''
---

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

Rooney speaks. Eveyone else hears one thing...Steelers want Ben to extend and retire a Steeler. Florio hears another thing. The guy is such a douche.

[8467thekraken]

Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig time D-bag!

[thor75]

The one thing that concerns me about Rooney's comments is that he thinks the age of the defense (keisel, clark, polamalu in particular) is of no concern. Whether that's media talk or not, I think it needs to be addressed this offseason.

[pfelix73]

It's funny how different people read things differently. Actually, I watched his interview on steelers.com and he said no such thing about the defense. He, and rightfully so because its only early January, said they are a long way from determining FA and what will transpire on defense. He did say there will be a different roster in 2014. Sounds to me the draft will be defense heavy. They also said in that interview that the Steelers- Rooney in particular- are not all that concerned about the salary cap and its not as bad as what everyone thinks.....

[thor75]

It's funny how different people read things differently. Actually, I watched his interview on steelers.com and he said no such thing about the defense. He, and rightfully so because its only early January, said they are a long way from determining FA and what will transpire on defense. He did say there will be a different roster in 2014. Sounds to me the draft will be defense heavy. They also said in that interview that the Steelers- Rooney in particular- are not all that concerned about the salary cap and its not as bad as what everyone thinks.....

I was going off the line in D.O.S's post, I'll have to check out the interview on steelers.com.

[pfelix73]

Cool. Yea, its worth watching....

[thor75]

Just finished watching and yes, he doesn't mention it in the video. Sounds like Labriola talked to him earlier in the day. Maybe that's what the article was referring to???

He doesn't seemed concerned about the cap either. Did I see Omar Kahn is getting an interview somewhere?