Fans Split On Pittsburgh Steelers Pouncey Extension
December 23, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey (53) and guard Ramon Foster (73) react as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) calls out the snap count against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second quarter at Heinz Field. The Cincinnati Bengals won 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
You can be certain that when the Pittsburgh Steelers do something significant, whether it be during the offseason, regular season, or playoffs, Steeler Nation loves to sound off. On Thursday morning, reports came out that the Steelers had extended center Maurkice Pouncey’s contract another five years beyond his rookie contract worth a grand total of $44 million. $14 million of that is guaranteed and there are numerous non-guaranteed roster bonuses on the table for the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Without all the full details in play, Twitter lit up the boards with fans, bloggers, and pundits weighing in.
Some folks were happy:
"@SteelerJsun: Per Schefter, it's a 5-yr, $44 million extension. #Steelers"~Great move I luv it..#Pouncey #SteelerNation
— Melvin Daniels Jr. (@melvind02) June 12, 2014
Some folks were jacked:
Some folks were unsure:
#Steelers always take care of their key players, but Im not sure how I feel about this big #Pouncey signing.... http://t.co/8CQDpWp8AW
— Scott Love (@BurghLove) June 12, 2014
And some were sensible:
RT @SteelersDepot: Folks, Alex Mack got $26 million guaranteed. Stop looking at average yearly value. #Pouncey #Steelers
— David X. Henry (@imau2fan) June 12, 2014
Our metrics show that the Steelers had their third-worst rushing season since 2000 last year. 2012 was worse. #Pouncey
— numberFire (@numberFire) June 12, 2014
No matter what your flavor is for how you take this news, it’s a done deal. And, as long as Pouncey stays healthy, he’ll be a staple on the Mike Munchak offensive line for the next six seasons – unless, of course, that is if the Steelers feel his cap hit will be too large at $9.6 million in three years.
I admit that I was rather angry at this signing – for the right reasons and the wrong reasons. Be on the lookout for that post later on.