Two of the Pittsburgh Steelers' biggest names will be back in 2021.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster each agreed to new deals this offseason, both serving as major wins for owner Art Rooney II, who answered questions from Steelers Nation Unite members on Thursday (March 25) via the Steelers' official website.
Rooney admitted the "key" to brining Roethlisberger back into the fold was having both side agree on a restructured contract amid the Steelers' limited cap space.
"We wanted Ben back," said Rooney. "The key to it was to be able to restructure his contract in a way that allowed us to keep Ben and be able to sign some other players. Ben cooperated with that, was willing to make some changes in his contract, and that allowed us to keep him on the team this year which was always our goal.
"I thought Ben had a very good year last year for somebody that was coming off of arm surgery. Hopefully he will have an even better year this year with another year under his belt in terms of recovering from that arm surgery. It was a very serious surgery, and we were uncertain how well he would be able to recover from it. He did a great job rehabbing and we are excited to have him back for this season."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports Roethlisberger's new contract includes a $12.925 million signing bonus, a $1.075 million base salary and "four voidable years to spread out the cap hit," which would technically make it a deal through 2025, voiding after the season.
"So, 1 year, $14M with a greatly reduced cap hit," Rapoport tweeted.
Smith-Schuster announced he'd also re-signed with the Steelers last Friday (March 19) after speculation he'd pursue other options.
"JuJu was an important part of our offense last year and has been for the last few years," Rooney said on Thursday. "We were certainly hopeful that we would be able to sign JuJu back. The one thing about JuJu is he really wanted to come back and that certainly helped a lot. I'm glad we got him back. I look forward to him having another good year for us in 2021."
NFL Network's Taylor Bisciotti reports Smith-Schuster agreed to a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was reportedly a "massive paycut to return" over "larger deals from divisional rivals and Super Bowl contenders to accommodate Pittsburgh's tough cap situation."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirmed the deal was worth $8 million and Smith-Schuster had "better offers" from the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, according to a source.
Last month, Smith-Schuster told FOX Sports Radio it "means a lot" that Roethlisberger would be willing to re-negotiate his current contract to free up cap space, providing the Steelers with more money to sign other players, during an interview in February prior to the new deal.
The 24-year-old said he'd "love to play with Ben for his time here" prior to the quarterback's decision to return.
Smith-Schuster also said he "would love to come back" to Pittsburgh, but said he wants to be on the team that provides him the best opportunity to win while also looking out for his best interests financially.
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