Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger Anxiously Awaiting New Contract

For Pittsburgh Steelers franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, the clock is ticking.

It’s not like Roethlisberger is sitting in his room and awaiting the phone to ring with his agent on the other line telling him the Steelers have finally come through with a long-term contract offer, but it has to be bothering him a bit.

Dec 22, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) during warmups prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Pittsburgh won 38-31. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

In the back of his mind Big Ben has to wonder if a year from now he could be preparing for his final year in a Steelers uniform.

Could Roethlisberger really become a free agent?

It still seems doubtful but if a contract extension doesn’t come this summer, and there is a good chance it may not, it may not come at all.

Roethlisberger has two years left on his current deal, but it has long been the Steelers’ policy to extend their quarterbacks before they enter the final year of their contracts. If Ben doesn’t have a new deal by the Sept. 7 opener, it is also the Steelers’ policy not to negotiate during the season.

That could leave them playing a dangerous game of rolling the dice and hoping they can ink Roethlisberger to a cheaper deal than he could get on the open market.

That’s a strategy that could ultimately backfire.

Regardless, Big Ben is anxiously awaiting a new deal, but it doesn’t seem like he is letting it affect his preparation for the 2014 season.

“I have no clue,” Roethlisberger told the Tribune-Review’s Alan Robinson. “All I worry about is playing ball in Pittsburgh and giving it everything I have.

“If my agent (Ryan Tollner) says something relevant comes up — (Tollner and the Steelers) are probably talking and doing small talk — then let me know. If not, I don’t care.”

Roethlisberger has stated that he wants to play the rest of his career in Pittsburgh and team president Art Rooney II has publically stated that he wants to see Roethlisberger retire a Steeler.  Yet despite that there doesn’t seem to be much traction on a new deal.

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Only Tom Brady and Eli Manning have as many or more Super Bowl rings than Roethlisberger but 10 different signal-callers have larger contracts.

A guy like Jay Cutler is making $40 million more than Roethlisberger and you have to think that he is going to command more money than Cutler and even Joe Flacco, who signed a mega-deal prior to this season.

Yet that is where the problem lies as the cash-strapped Steelers may not be able to give it to him. It’s going to be an interesting summer for sure, yet Roethlisberger still makes his intentions clear.

“I’d like to be here for the rest of my career,” Roethlisberger told the Tribune-Review. “Whenever that is.”