Report: Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger Willing to Restructure Contract

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger confirmed that he wants to return to the team in 2021, and said to The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette that he is willing to restructure his contract, something that team president Art Rooney II laid out as a necessity when speaking with the media earlier on Thursday.

“I don’t care about pay at all this year,” Roethlisberger reportedly said, well confirming what Rooney first announced: that he does intend to return to the team for the 2021 season.

Ben Roethlisberger just told me that "we agree with everything" Art Rooney II said about him returning for 2021 (more)

— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) January 28, 2021

“I am pretty sure I want to go one more year (because) I think I can do it and give us a real chance at winning,” the 38-year-old quarterback said

“Ben wants to come back,” Rooney said. “So we’ve left that door open. We’ve been — I think — up front with Ben and let him know that we couldn’t have him back under the current contract. So I think he understands we have some work to do there. We’ll have more conversations internally, we’ll have more conversations with Ben, and obviously, we’ll have to know what the cap number is at some point to really finalize with those decisions.”

Roethlisberger is set to count for over $41 million towards the team’s salary cap obligations for 2021, and the team is projected to be significantly over the cap entering the offseason. Roethlisberger could forgo up to $19 million of his salary for this upcoming season.