Ben Roethlisberger has surprised his Pittsburgh Steelers' teammates many times during his unbeaten rookie season. He did so again Tuesday, announcing he'll donate his first NFL playoff paycheck to the tsunami victims relief effort.
Even on a team that openly encourages its players to participate in charity activities and community events, Roethlisberger's $18,000 gesture before Saturday's Jets-Steelers game created a positive stir.
"Wow, I didn't even know that,'' wide receiver Hines Ward said. "Guys do a lot of different things in different ways that people don't always hear about, but that's great -- that's for a great cause, definitely. That's a big tragedy, and I hope everyone will at least donate (something).''
Unlike the regular season, when each player earns a weekly share of his base salary, playoff salaries are determined by the league's collective bargaining agreement and each player is paid the same.
Roethlisberger, who is 13-0 as a rookie quarterback, hopes other NFL players will follow his lead.
"I'm going to donate my game check this week to the tsunami relief -- and hopefully maybe (it will be) a challenge for other people to do that, too,'' Roethlisberger said.
