The Pittsburgh Steelers have begun preliminary negotiations with Ben Roethlisberger on a new contract extension.
Ben Roethlisberger has been the face of the Pittsburgh Steelers since he was taken in the 2004 draft with the 11th selection. He has since won the Super Bowl twice with the Steelers and has been selected to the Pro Bowl 3 times.
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Ben is in the final year of a 6-year $87.9 million contract and the team has started some preliminary talks on extending his contract. The team would love to have Ben finish his career in Pittsburgh. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert believes that Ben will get better with age.
“I think Ben is going to be better quarterback down the road than he has to this point,” Colbert explained. “He’ll get better with good players around him.”
At 32 years old, Ben still should have plenty in the tank. Peyton Manning is prepping to play another season and he is 38. Tom Brady just won the Super Bowl and is 37. The team better be prepared to offer a 9-digit salary to keep him in town for the rest of his career.
The Steelers do not have a timetable set on when they would like to get a deal done, but I am sure that they would like to get something set before the season starts. They would not want him to get into the season without a deal. Contract negotiations can drag along for a while, but at least the Steelers have already begun the talks at the start of the offseason.
Last season, Big Ben led the Steelers to an 11-5 record and he had a career high in passing yards, throwing for 4,952 yards and 32 touchdowns. The Steelers were unable to get past the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs though, so the season was cut short. Ben continues to impress on the field and has some great talent around him to work with. Antonio Brown, Heath Miller and Martavis Bryant are great weapons for Ben to target in the passing game. He also has a great running game with Le’Veon Bell that he can lean on.
With all the young talent on the roster, Ben will be looking to get the team back into the playoffs next season. He also could be looking at some new career highs.
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