QB Ben Roethlisberger extends stay at Pittsburgh by agreeing to new deal -NFL News
Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, has agreed to a revised deal, which will save the franchise around eight million dollars over the next National Football League (NFL) season.
This is second time in six months that the deal terms of the quarterback have been restructured, which reflects on Steelers’ desperation on the looming matter of the overspend on the players’ salaries.
The terms of the new deal, which will likely affect the player’s financial standing, have not been disclosed yet.
Roethlisberger has joined the list of other players including, cornerback, Ike Taylor and linebackers, LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons, who have already accepted new deals.
Big Ben is on an eight-year contract of worth $102 million and was set to make as much as $11.6 million in 2012.
While admitting to be in negotiations with the team management regarding the new deal, Ben’s agent revealed a day earlier that a decision was expected to be made over the next couple of days.
The quarterback along with the wide receiver, Mike Wallace, is the highest paid football player at Steelers, and both were expected to be in the line of the team’s austerity drive with possibility of benefit cuts.
Steelers are concerned with the lingering issue of above-the-cap expense on the players’ salaries and have recently introduced measures such as redoing deals and releasing some of their players to bring down the overspend.
The team has waived off the cornerback, Bryant McFadden and wide receiver, Arnaz Battle, to help save about $3.5 million per year on each player.
Hines Ward is another player facing either release or cut in his benefits. He has recently spoken of his eagerness to stay with Steelers, no matter even if he has to compromise on the financial terms.
While responding to the player’s concerns, Steelers’ general manager, Kevin Colbert, said that a decision had not been taken yet.
Now, with having secured some savings from the recent deal, Steelers are likely to focus the possibility of re-signing the wide receiver, Mike Wallace.
The team is running out of time on Wallace initiative, as the player is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the NFL trade deadline of March 13, 2012.
Colbert has recently spoken of the team’s interest in retaining Wallace, and a solution is likely to be worked out for him in the next couple of days.
Wallace is amongst the key figures at offence position of the team, and his becoming free agency can prove very expensive for Steelers.
None of the sides have thrown a light on the demography of new deals, possibly waiting for the receiver, and whether he is going to agree to it or take his chances of fetching a better price off the free agency market.
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