LATROBE, PA. Maddox is the Steelers' starting QB, but salary doesn't reflect that status

He enters the season as one of the NFL's lowest-paid starting quarterbacks.
LATROBE, Pa. (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers jettisoned Kordell Stewart and the final year of his $27 million contract during the off-season and turned over their offense to Tommy Maddox.
While Maddox is now the starter, the Steelers aren't paying him a starter's salary. He wasn't even the highest-paid quarterback to report Friday for the start of training camp.
Despite efforts by his agent to re-negotiate the five-year contract he signed only last year, Maddox goes into this season as one of the NFL's lowest-paid starting quarterbacks at $725,000, counting his reporting bonus. He will make about $275,000 less than backup Charlie Batch, who has a $2 million, two-year deal.
Maddox averages about $920,000 a season on a deal that runs through 2006.
It was the big contract and $8 million signing bonus the Steelers gave Stewart after a not-so-good season in 1998 that was part of the reason they were reluctant to redo Maddox's contract.
Steelers want to wait
Maddox has been a starter less than a full season and, given the big scare his spinal injury gave them last year, the Steelers want to see him play at his 2002 level for a full season before committing big money to him.
Maddox expressed frustration during mini-camp that his contract wasn't reworked to pay him at the level comparable to most NFL quarterbacks. With far fewer seasons left in his career than most quarterbacks who are just taking over a team, Maddox understands that he might have only a couple of seasons with high-income potential. Maddox turns 32 on Sept. 2.
Trying to prevent the issue from becoming a season-long distraction, Maddox said Friday that he won't talk about it again this season.
"I'm excited about the season and I'm excited about being here and all the things that lie ahead of us," Maddox said. "I'm just excited about the opportunity and that's all I'm focused on now."
Circuitous route to top
Maddox's exasperation at not getting a bigger contract no doubt is partly the result of the circuitous route he took to becoming an NFL starter -- the years he couldn't land a job, his short-term career as an insurance salesman, his time in the XFL and Arena Football.
"It's been a long journey for me, so I'm excited about the opportunity I have to play," Maddox said. "To come as far as I've come and be here, to start worrying about other things would be foolish."
With Stewart gone and Maddox in charge of an offense that is much more throwing-oriented than any the Steelers have had for years, coordinator Mike Mularkey's challenge is to keep Maddox performing as he did last season. He wants to cut down on the turnovers; Maddox threw for 20 touchdowns in 12 games but also threw 16 interceptions.
"If you force it in there and it works, everybody loves it, and I don't want to take away the aggressiveness out of throwing the football," Maddox said. "If you start worrying about that too much, all of a sudden you're not throwing the ball down the field at all."
Jerome Bettis, the 10th-leading rusher in NFL history, wants to get back to running it as much as he once did. Bothered by injuries for a second consecutive season, his 666 yards rushing in 2002 were easily his lowest total since joining the Steelers in 1996.
This is the first time he's come to a Steelers camp needing to win a job -- coach Bill Cowher said Bettis and Amos Zereoue will compete -- and he looked lighter than any previous summer. But he wouldn't disclose his weight.
"Every year I come to training camp in good shape, so I don't think that's even a question mark," said Bettis, listed at 256 pounds. "The big difference this year was I was in training camp shape in April and May."
First-round draft pick Troy Polamalu, expected to be the starting strong safety, was unsigned as camp opened. The only veteran player missing was right guard Kendall Simmons, recently hospitalized with diabetes and might not report for another week or two.
Director of football operations Kevin Colbert said that once doctors get the condition under control, Simmons will report and should be ready for the Sept. 7 opener against Baltimore.
"We're not worried about this extending into the season," Colbert said.
The Steelers signed second-round draft pick Alonzo Jackson and fifth-round selection Brian St. Pierre on Friday.