jakncoke
03-03-2008, 12:57 PM
The Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger have agreed to a new eight-year, $102 million contract.
Hashmarks
ESPN.com's Matt Mosley, Mike Sando and Pat Yasinskas are following the NFL free-agency frenzy and sharing their thoughts. Get the latest news from the always updated Hashmarks.
The contract, which includes more than $36 million in guarantees and is easily the largest in team history, places Big Ben among the game's highest-paid players. In comparison, Peyton Manning received a $34.5 million signing bonus in his big deal and Michael Vick received $37 million in guarantees from the Falcons in his mega deal. Both Manning's and Vick's deals were signed in 2004.
Roethlisberger now joins Manning, Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb and the suspended Vick in the $100 million quarterback club.
"This is about being a Pittsburgh Steeler for as long as I can be. I love Pittsburgh," Roethlisberger said. He said he "wanted to be like the Dan Marinos, like the John Elways, guys who played with one team their whole career."
Roethlisberger's agents, Ryan and Bruce Tollner of REP 1 Sports, traveled to Pittsburgh and finalized the deal with the Steelers late Sunday night.
"Ben has been an outstanding leader on the field for the Steelers since his rookie year and we are very happy to know that he will be our quarterback for many years to come," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement.
Roethlisberger, who turned 26 on Sunday, is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he completed more than 65 percent of his passes with a tean-record 32 touchdowns and an efficiency rating of 104.1, leading the Steelers to an AFC North title and the playoffs for the third time in his four seasons.
Roethlisberger, who two years ago became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl, grew as a team leader last season and bounced back from a disappointing 2006 where his offseason was marred by a serious motorcycle accident and an appendectomy.
Roethlisberger was the third quarterback taken in the '04 draft, behind Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, and the 11th choice overall. He started 13 games his rookie season and was voted offensive rookie of the year, the first quarterback to win the award since it was first given in 1957. The next year he led the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory.
In addition to a pay raise, the Steelers are also in the process of adding another weapon to Roethlisberger's arsenal. Pittsburgh hosted former Vikings running back Mewelde Moore on Sunday and his signing appears imminent.
Moore will provide Pittsburgh's offense with the legitimate receiving threat out of the backfield it had lacked. He's also likely to serve as the team's primary kickoff and punt returner.
Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com. ESPN.com's John Clayton contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ESPN - Roethlisberger gets more than $36 million in guarantees in new deal - NFL (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3274467)
Awesome news getting him locked up for so long, I thought he'd get at least most 70.
Hashmarks
ESPN.com's Matt Mosley, Mike Sando and Pat Yasinskas are following the NFL free-agency frenzy and sharing their thoughts. Get the latest news from the always updated Hashmarks.
The contract, which includes more than $36 million in guarantees and is easily the largest in team history, places Big Ben among the game's highest-paid players. In comparison, Peyton Manning received a $34.5 million signing bonus in his big deal and Michael Vick received $37 million in guarantees from the Falcons in his mega deal. Both Manning's and Vick's deals were signed in 2004.
Roethlisberger now joins Manning, Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, Donovan McNabb and the suspended Vick in the $100 million quarterback club.
"This is about being a Pittsburgh Steeler for as long as I can be. I love Pittsburgh," Roethlisberger said. He said he "wanted to be like the Dan Marinos, like the John Elways, guys who played with one team their whole career."
Roethlisberger's agents, Ryan and Bruce Tollner of REP 1 Sports, traveled to Pittsburgh and finalized the deal with the Steelers late Sunday night.
"Ben has been an outstanding leader on the field for the Steelers since his rookie year and we are very happy to know that he will be our quarterback for many years to come," Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement.
Roethlisberger, who turned 26 on Sunday, is coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he completed more than 65 percent of his passes with a tean-record 32 touchdowns and an efficiency rating of 104.1, leading the Steelers to an AFC North title and the playoffs for the third time in his four seasons.
Roethlisberger, who two years ago became the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl, grew as a team leader last season and bounced back from a disappointing 2006 where his offseason was marred by a serious motorcycle accident and an appendectomy.
Roethlisberger was the third quarterback taken in the '04 draft, behind Eli Manning and Philip Rivers, and the 11th choice overall. He started 13 games his rookie season and was voted offensive rookie of the year, the first quarterback to win the award since it was first given in 1957. The next year he led the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory.
In addition to a pay raise, the Steelers are also in the process of adding another weapon to Roethlisberger's arsenal. Pittsburgh hosted former Vikings running back Mewelde Moore on Sunday and his signing appears imminent.
Moore will provide Pittsburgh's offense with the legitimate receiving threat out of the backfield it had lacked. He's also likely to serve as the team's primary kickoff and punt returner.
Michael Smith is a senior writer for ESPN.com. ESPN.com's John Clayton contributed to this report. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ESPN - Roethlisberger gets more than $36 million in guarantees in new deal - NFL (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3274467)
Awesome news getting him locked up for so long, I thought he'd get at least most 70.