infantrycak
Hall of Fame
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- First-round draft pick Ben Roethlisberger reached terms Tuesday on a six-year contract worth as much as $40 million with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The deal, reached following lengthy talks that began Monday morning and extended into Tuesday morning, includes a Steelers club record $9,009,000 bonus that will be paid in signing and option bonuses of $600,000, $1,172,000 and $7,237,000 between now and March 1, 2005, the Associated Press learned.
Roethlisberger's first-year salary will be the minimum of $230,000.
The talks finally progressed when the Steelers agreed to pay Roethlisberger a larger bonus than the $8 million that Houston gave cornerback Dunta Robinson, who was drafted No. 10 overall, one spot ahead of Roethlisberger.
The Steelers initially wanted to give the quarterback a bonus less than what Robinson got but more than the $7.25 million that No. 12 pick Jonathan Vilma got from the New York Jets.
``We felt that quarterbacks deserve a premium, and the Steelers ultimately agreed,'' said Leigh Steinberg, Roethlisberger's agent.
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Funny how with the talk about the Texans paying too much to Babin and Robinson, it certainly looks like it is other teams that have actually gone nuts. Don't you just know Rivers' agents will be using this to bolster their claim to #1 money--"Rivers is a QB you know, he deserves more than a WR or LT."