The re-re-re-scheduling of the Week 12 game between the Ravens and Steelers will result in the Steelers playing three games in 12 days. Steelers tight end Eric Ebron isn’t happy about that.
“We put all of these stipulations in place,” Ebron said on Uninterrupted’s 17 Weeks podcast on SiriusXM/Pandora. “Everybody signed up and said, ‘Ok, this is gonna be cool.’ Nobody thought you would play three games in 12 days. Think about that. That’s us. We play [Wednesday], we play Monday [against Washington], and we play Sunday [at Buffalo]. Oh my God. . . . They’re trying to see us fail, bro. Welcome to the National Football League.”
If the NFL had canceled the Ravens-Steelers game, no players from either team would have gotten paid. It sounds like Ebron wouldn’t have minded.
“I don’t care about a game check,” Ebron said. “I’m sorry, I know there are people who don’t make the amount of money I do. I know that. So what? I’m sure they don’t want to play three games in 12 days either. They’d much rather, you know, lose a game check than risk them not making a check the next year because they’re hurt.”
For Ebron, who has a $1 million salary this season, a game check would cost $58,823.53.
Despite his complaints, Ebron seems to be willing to play along. But he has a request. Or maybe it’s a demand.
“When we go to the Super Bowl they just better give us the biggest plane, the best hotel, the top of everything,” Ebron said. “Like whatever they did for Kansas City last year we need to be 30 times better than that when we go to the Super Bowl because that’ll be their makeup to us. They gotta roll out the red carpet for our ass now. They ain’t trying to do it in the regular season. They’re gonna have to do it then and we want it bigger and better than everybody else because they made us go through three road games in the middle of the year, and then three games in 12 days. And everybody says, ‘Oh we have the easiest schedule.’ OK, come over here and play with us then.”
It’ll be interesting to see what coach Mike Tomlin thinks of Ebron’s remarks. Tomlin insisted after Wednesday’s win over the Ravens that the Steelers “make no excuses” regarding the six-day delay of the Week 12 game. Tomlin also may not be thrilled with Ebron’s presumption that the Steelers will be heading to Tampa in February.