The Pittsburgh Steelers have no intention of allowing Ben Roethlisberger to play out the final year of his contract in 2019, and they appear to be on the verge of signing the Pro Bowl quarterback to a contract extension.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Roethlisberger and the Steelers have made “significant progress” on a new deal and could finalize it as soon as Wednesday.
The #Steelers and QB Ben Roethlisberger have made significant progress on a contract extension that will make him, once again, one of the highest paid players, source say. The two sides are in the final stages and a deal could be announced as soon as today.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 24, 2019
Roethlisberger is entering the final year of a four-year, $87.4 million contract he signed during the 2015 offseason. He still played at an incredibly high level in 2018, throwing for 5,129 yards, 34 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. It makes sense that his new deal would make him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL.
It was not that long ago that Big Ben made some comments indicating he was close to calling it a career, but that is clearly not the case.
