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LATROBE, Pa. -- Casey Hampton labored unsuccessfully through the mandatory eight 100-yard dashes every Pittsburgh Steelers player must run to begin training camp.
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When the four-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman realized he wouldn't make it, who ran up to lend not only a helping hand but offer words of consolation? Not another defensive player, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
It's a much-repeated scene only four days into the Steelers' camp: Roethlisberger isn't just running the offense, he's leading it. The entire team, too.
There's no hiding it: The Steelers are Big Ben's team. Not Jerome Bettis' team or Alan Faneca's team or Hines Ward's team, but one that now relies on No. 7.
"Absolutely," said new center Justin Hartwig, citing the most visible example of what the Steelers think about Roethlisberger. "One million dollars is a lot of money."
That's $102 million to be precise, though the 26-year-old Roethlisberger probably won't see all of it. A nice chunk of it, $36 million, is guaranteed, including the $25.5 million signing bonus.
Such a contract isn't uncommon for NFL star quarterbacks, but it's a huge commitment for a team that previously declined to devote nearly as much cash to a single player. But Roethlisberger already is the second-most accomplished quarterback in the 76-year-old franchise's history to Terry Bradshaw, even though he is beginning only his fifth season on the job.
Coincidentally, it wasn't until his fifth season in 1974 that Bradshaw, one of the greatest big-game quarterbacks in NFL history, fully secured a starting job and led the Steelers to the first of their four Super Bowl victories in six seasons. At the same stage of his career, Roethlisberger has won a Super Bowl and is averaging 11 victories per season.
"The guy keeps getting better," Ward said. "And you know he's going to keep getting better."
Other than winning multiple Super Bowls, there isn't much Roethlisberger hasn't done since the Steelers drafted him No. 11 overall in 2004. He went 13-0 in 2004, by far the best record for an NFL rookie quarterback, won a Super Bowl the next season, then set Steelers' single-season records with 32 touchdown passes and a 104.1 passer rating last season despite getting sacked 47 times.
After years of searching for a franchise quarterback, the Steelers didn't want to lose this guy. That's why it's grown apparent that whatever Ben wants, Ben gets.
The Steelers tore up Roethlisberger's rookie contract to give him the new deal in March. A month later, they gladly fulfilled his request for a tall receiver with downfield skills by drafting Limas Sweed of Texas in the second round.
"I wanted to stay here," Roethlisberger said. "The day I came here, I wanted to be one of those guys who played their entire career for one team, like (John) Elway and (Dan) Marino. I love Pittsburgh and I wanted to stay here."
