Ben Roethlisberger got the quarterback premium he wanted from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The 11th overall pick and third quarterback taken, Roethlisberger signed a six-year contract with the Steelers on Tuesday. The deal includes a signing bonus of US$9,009,000, about US$1 million more than cornerback Dunta Robinson, the 10th pick, got from Houston.
"We felt that quarterbacks deserve a premium, and the Steelers ultimately agreed," said Leigh Steinberg, Roethlisberger's agent.
Roethlisberger is the third of the four quarterbacks chosen in the first round of the draft to agree to terms.
Eli Manning, the first overall pick, got a US$20 million signing bonus from the New York Giants. J.P. Losman, taken 22nd overall, signed last weekend with Buffalo, getting a bonus of US$5.6 million.
Philip Rivers, taken fourth overall, and tight end Kellen Winslow, the sixth player chosen, remain the highest unsigned draft picks among the five first-rounders not under contract.
Rivers was taken by the Giants then traded to San Diego for Manning, who requested before the draft that the Chargers pass on him. Rivers' agent, Jimmy Sexton, is seeking first-pick money for his client even though he was No. 4 overall.
That figures to be a difficult signing, as does Winslow, whose agent already has turned down a contract similar to the one signed with Washington by safety Sean Taylor, taken fifth overall.
Roethlisberger, who left Miami of Ohio after his junior year, fell to 11th in part because of the Manning-Rivers scenario. At one point before the draft, the Giants appeared to prefer him to Rivers.
Colts
Peyton Manning's security blanket has gotten too heavy.
Tarik Glenn, the Indianapolis starter at left tackle the past six seasons, was kept out of practice Tuesday because he was overweight.
Jets
First-round pick Jonathan Vilma injured his left calf during the morning practice.
Injuries seem to be mounting for the Jets. Defensive tackle Josh Evans sprained his left knee and missed the afternoon session. Key free-agent acquisitions Eric Barton and Reggie Tongue also missed practice with leg injuries. All three are day to day.
Falcons
A day after agreeing to a US$25 million, five-year contract with Atlanta, first-round draft pick DeAngelo Hall reported to training camp, still a starting cornerback despite a six-day holdout.
"Now, I'm ready," Hall said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to