Is Ben Roethlisberger Due for Big Pay Day with Pittsburgh Steelers?

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is entering the final year of the eight-year, $102 million contract he signed in 2008.

Talks between Roethlisberger and the Steelers to extend the quarterback's deal, perhaps through the end of his career, are ongoing. Team general manager Kevin Colbert said to CBS Sports' Jason LaCanfora on Wednesday that he is very confident a new deal can be reached.

Roethlisberger is coming off of the best statistical season of his career, completing 67.1 percent of his passes for 4,952 yards. He threw 32 touchdowns to nine interceptions, averaged 8.1 yards per attempt and was sacked 33 times. He was Pro Football Focus' third-best quarterback of the 2014 season, behind only Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.

Still, with an average per-year contract value of $14.66 million, Roethlisberger is only 15th on the list of the league's highest-paid quarterbacks, getting less per year than Rodgers, Brees, Colin Kaepernick, Jay Cutler and even Alex Smith among others. This, after reaching three and winning two Super Bowls and helping revive Pittsburgh's passing offense.

Given Roethlisberger's resume and how well he performed in 2014, there's no doubt a big payday is headed Roethlisberger's way. But how big? 

Stat	Value	Rank
Pass Yds.	4,952	T-1st
Comp.%	67.1%	3rd
Yds/Att.	8.15	3rd
Long	94	1st
TDs	32	7th
INTs	9	T-5th
Rating	103.4	3rd

Roethlisberger is set to cost $18.395 million against the Steelers' salary cap in 2015 via a combination of salary and bonus. It is the team's highest cap charge, helping contribute to the team's top-51 salaries being just over an expected cap limit of $142 million for the year, according to OvertheCap.

A contract extension this offseason would help assuage some of this cap strain by pushing a chunk of his $18-plus million cap charge into the new contract while also paying him what he's worth to the team. Roethlisberger can be paid handsomely and the Steelers can solve some of their cap issues by extending him this spring.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly estimated earlier in the month that Roethlisberger should receive a five-year deal worth $100 million, a fair number, given the current value of quarterback contracts. It's a good number to start with, considering Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler received a seven-year, $126.7 million contract in 2013. 

That contract gives Cutler a per-year average of $18.1 million. Thirty percent of the contract's value—$38 million—is fully guaranteed, with a yearly average of $5.428 million in guaranteed money. And Cutler has never been to a Super Bowl.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Thus, bumping Roethlisberger up to a per-year average of $20 million is in line with other quarterbacks' recent paydays and those who can rival his on-field success.

Extending Roethlisberger now means that his $18.395 million cap charge this year can be decreased considerably. The deal could enable Roethlisberger and the Steelers to convert a significant chunk of his 2015 base salary of $11.6 million into a signing bonus, freeing up cap space for other signings, such as linebacker Jason Worilds.

That bonus can be further prorated out on a yearly basis as well, should the Steelers desire more cap flexibility in 2015. It can also be further manipulated in 2016 and beyond, though the Steelers will have to be careful about restructuring and pushing money into the future, considering Roethlisberger turns 33 years old in March.

It's possible that Roethlisberger would be open to taking a type of hometown discount, keeping his yearly cost and cap charge low to allow the Steelers to pay the players around him. Players who, it can be argued, are why Roethlisberger's stat line keeps improving.

Player	Total	Avg/Yr	Tot. Gtd.	% Gtd.
Rodgers	$110 Mil	$22 Mil	$54 Mil	49.1%
Ryan	$103.7 Mil	$20.7 Mil	$42 MIl	40.5%
Flacco	$120.6 Mil	$20.1 Mil	$29 Mil	24.0%
Brees	$100 Mil	$20.0 Mil	$40 Mil	40.0%
P. Manning	$96 Mil	$19.2 Mil	$18 Mil	18.8%
Kaepernick	$114 Mil	$19.0 Mil	$12.9 Mil	11.4%
Cutler	$126.7 Mil	$18.1 Mil	$38 Mil	30.0%
Romo	$108 Mil	$18.0 Mil	$40 Mil	37.0%
Stafford	$53 Mil	$17.6 Mil	$41.5 Mil	78.3%
Smith	$68 Mil	$17.0 Mil	$19 Mil	27.9%
Palmer	$49.5 Mil	$16.5 Mil	$14.2 Mil	28.8%
E. Manning	$97.5 Mil	$16.2 Mil	$35 Mil	35.9%
Dalton	$96 Mil	$16.0 Mil	$17 Mil	17.7%
Rivers	$91.8 Mil	$15.3 Mil	$38.1 Mil	41.6%
Roethlisberger	$87.9 Mil	$14.6 Mil	$33.2 Mil	37.7%

This is the method the New England Patriots and Tom Brady took. Brady averages just $11.4 million per year, though his percentage of guaranteed money, 57.9 percent, is high. However, Brady also converted fully guaranteed cash—$24 million of it—to $27 million in injury-only guarantees in exchange for $8 million per year in salary instead of $7 million. That frees up future cash for the Patriots to the tune of $16 million.

However, Roethlisberger has already provided the Steelers with considerable discounts, given his constant contract restructures and being stuck in an eight-year deal that eventually saw him being paid way below market value relative to his performance. It's time for Roethlisberger to get paid—really paid.

Roethlisberger has been a stabilizing force for the Steelers during times of transition. He's played with different groups of receivers and sometimes cobbled-together groups of offensive linemen. He's handled coordinator changes, scheme changes, injuries and has evolved his game as his skill set and physical ability changed.

In his 11 years, he's helped the Steelers reach a 106-52 record. They have taken part in 15 playoff games with Roethlisberger under center, with 10 wins to five losses. And based on his 2014 showing, he's only now reaching his peak performance.

Therefore, should Roethlisberger receive a five-year deal giving him an average of $20 million per year, it would be money well spent. Not only could such an extension immediately help the Steelers' salary-cap situation, they would also be rewarding a quarterback who should be paid as much as the league's best passers.

Roethlisberger has earned it. The Steelers know that, and now it's just a matter of time before both sides can come to an agreement to pay Roethlisberger what he's truly worth.