At a time when the network partially owned by the Steelers has crafted a cottage industry out of the possibility that franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be traded, the man who partially owns the Steelers has provided his own opinion on the situation.
“It’s ridiculous,” Art Rooney II said Sunday, via Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Roethlisberger separately addressed the situation, again.
“There’s no truth to this,” Roethlisberger. “I mean none. On a scale of 1 to 10, it’s like a minus-1 million. It’s crazy, honestly.”
The comments came after Ian Rapoport of NFL Network finally added some meat to the bone of a report that had pinballed through the airwaves for a week, indicating that Roethlisberger’s concerns are money and losing.
“False and false,” Roethlisberger said. “Did Ian do that one? Surprise, surprise.”
But Roethlisberger’s contract continues to loom over the franchise. He’ll need a new deal after the season due to the salary cap, and the thinking is that he’ll want to be paid in the range of $20 million per year, like some of the guys who have won less than two Super Bowls (e.g., Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning).
Meanwhile, Rooney has yet to rule out a trade involving Rapoport.
For more insights on Ben’s future in Pittsburgh, including the question of whether he’ll take less than top-of-market value to stay there, here’s former Steelers receiver Hines Ward from the set of Football Night in America.