Roethlisberger’s extension to wait until ’15

Associated Press

LATROBE, Pa.

The Pittsburgh Steelers want to reward Ben Roethlisberger for the two Super Bowls he’s already won while also making sure the talent around their quarterback is good enough to make a legitimate run at a third ring.

Doing both at the same time isn’t an option, at least not this year.

Steelers president Art Rooney II said Friday the team is putting off awarding Roethlisberger a lengthy — and certainly lucrative — extension until the offseason so it can focus on improving a roster that has missed the playoffs each of the past two years.

Pittsburgh typically renegotiates with its starting quarterback when there are two years remaining on the current deal. Roethlisberger is about to enter the penultimate season of an eight-year, $102 million contract he signed before the 2008 season.

While Rooney is adamant about making sure Roethlisberger is a Steeler for the remainder of his career, putting something together in 2015 makes more fiscal sense than ironing something out before the 2014 opener against Cleveland.

Rooney pointed out a likely uptick in the salary cap next spring and Roethlisberger’s own competitive desire as the main reasons behind the decision to wait.

“Ben wants to be part of a winning team, to be in a position to compete for championships, and he understands that in order to do that we need to try to keep as many of the other players around as we can,” Rooney said. “So, addressing the players who are going into the final years of their contracts in 2014 makes sense.”

The Steelers signed All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey to a six-year, $48 million deal at the end of minicamp in June. Several other players in the final year of their contracts, including outside linebacker Jason Worilds, could be in position for significant paydays.

Rooney approached Roethlisberger with the plan before Pouncey’s contract was announced.

“I think Ben understands that’s our intention and the way we’d like to proceed,” Rooney said.

Roethlisberger is much for comparing numbers. He quietly reported for his 11th training camp at Saint Vincent College on Friday and breezed through the conditioning test along with the rest of his teammates.

When he jogs onto the field today for the team’s first practice, he’ll be joined by a sea of new faces, all of whom understand what they’re facing after ceding the top spot in the AFC North to rivals Cincinnati and Baltimore.