STEELERS Maddox agrees to extend contract
The veteran quarterback's deal is backloaded with incentives.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Tommy Maddox reached a contract extension through the 2007 season that pays him more like the starter he's expected to be this season.
But the deal, backloaded with playing time incentives in the later years, is structured to allow Maddox to remain with the team in a lower-paying backup role if -- or when -- first-round draft pick Ben Roethlisberger succeeds him.
The deal includes a $2 million signing bonus, and is worth $14 million including incentives, according to ESPN.com.
Maddox and Steelers President Art Rooney II didn't discuss terms, but both agreed the deal will enable Maddox to remain with the team even after Roethlisberger becomes the starter.
"It's structured fairly for both sides. If I continue to play ... I can continue to make pretty good money," Maddox said. If not, his pay will adjust accordingly, allowing him to stay with the team for several years as a backup.
"It's obviously a very unique situation," Maddox said. "And with them drafting Ben this year, it became even more unique."
Starter's pay
Maddox had been playing under a five-year contract signed when both he and the Steelers anticipated he would be a backup.
Maddox was scheduled to make $750,000 in base salary this season and next, plus another $1 million in 2006 under his old contract -- much less in three seasons than most NFL starters earn in one.
But Maddox has been the starter since he unexpectedly beat out Kordell Stewart three games into the 2002 season, leading the Steelers to a 10-5-1 record and the second round of the playoffs.
The Steelers finished 6-10 last season. But Maddox didn't have the support of an effective running game or a healthy offensive line and his 3,414 yards passing were the second most in team history.
After Roethlisberger signs, Maddox would almost certainly have entered this season as the team's lowest-paid quarterback.
Rare exception
Rooney said that situation resulted in a "rare exception" to a team policy of not renegotiating with players who have multiple years left on their contracts.
"We just felt it was the right thing to do in an unusual set of circumstances," Rooney said.
Maddox said he wanted to get the deal done before training camp, and said talks about the new contract began shortly after Roethlisberger was drafted.
Although Roethlisberger will command first-round money, Maddox said he was confident the Steelers would keep their word to sign him to an extension.
Maddox said he didn't try compete with a deal like the three-year, $12 million contract that free-agent Kerry Collins signed with the Oakland Raiders. Maddox said his extension is more about acknowledging his role with the team than raw dollars.
"The big factor in it for me was [originally] signing a deal that I was a backup and now I'm starting and I've had some success," Maddox said. "I'm not concerned about what other guys are getting ... it comes back to me truly meaning that it wasn't all about money and it wasn't about seeing how much I could get."