Steelers Have Begun “Preliminary” Negotiations With Ben Roethlisberger

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert mentioned on Tuesday that they have begun “preliminary” contract negotiations with QB Ben Roethlisberger regarding a long-term extension, per Burt Lauten.

Colbert added that he expects a deal to eventually get done, but he didn’t offer any sort of timetable.

“It could happen quick. It could take a while,” Colbert said, per Mark Kaboly. “…Ben is going to be a better quarterback down the road than he has to this point.”

Last we heard regarding this topic, Roethlisberger said that he would like to get a contract extension worked out with Pittsburgh “sooner than later,” per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Roethlisberger added that it’s up to his agent and Rooney family to get a long-term deal in place, but he’s confident that it will ultimately get done.

There has been talk that his next contract could leave him among the highest paid quarterbacks in the league with an annual salary of close to $20 million per year.

Roethlisberger, 32, still has one year remaining on his eight-year, $102 million contract that includes $33.2 million guaranteed. He is set to earn a base salary of $11.6 million in 2015, which is a far cry from the type of money less accomplished quarterbacks are making right now.

This season, Roethlisberger threw for a league-leading 4,952 yards while completing 67.1 percent of his passes to go along with 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 3 quarterback in the league out of 39 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding contract talks between Roethlisberger and the Steelers as the news is available.