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© 2025 COLD WIRE MEDIA. THE COLD WIRE IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF COLD WIRE MEDIA. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF OUR TERMS OF USE AND PRIVACY POLICY

Monday, April 20, 2026

The Life And Career Of Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Donahue
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The Life And Career Of Ben Roethlisberger
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

 

The Pittsburgh Steelers experienced considerable success in the 1970s, winning four Super Bowls in four attempts.

When their future Hall of Fame quarterback retired following the 1983 season, no one thought it would be two decades before the organization found its next franchise QB.

Ben Roethlisberger arrived by way of Miami University of Ohio, not to be confused with the flashy University of Miami in Florida.

While playing in his home state, “Big Ben” rewrote the RedHawks record book and even set a few NCAA marks.

After three years as a starter, he jumped to the NFL and was taken in the first round of the 2004 draft by Pittsburgh.

By his second year, the team was already playing and winning a Super Bowl, then won another one three years later.

Roethlisberger would play 18 seasons and become known as one of the best at the position.

He experienced personal lows and embarrassing moments along the way, but Roethlisberger rebounded to become a family man and involved himself in charity.

This is the story of Ben Roethlisberger.

 

Early Tragedy

Benjamin (Ben) Todd Roethlisberger Sr. was born on March 2, 1982, in Lima, Ohio.

He was two years old when his parents, Ken and Ida, divorced, as Ida did not feel fit enough to be a full-time parent.

Ida remained part of Ben’s life on various nights and occasional weekends until she was tragically killed in a car accident on the way to see him.

Ben was only eight years old.

Just like that, Ken became his son’s primary caregiver, and the two of them would grow close.

Since Ken Roethlisberger was a former college quarterback and pitcher at Georgia Tech, the two bonded in particular through sports.

Ben would challenge his dad to competitive games of ping pong or pool, and started playing football, basketball, and baseball with Ken as his ever-present cheerleader.

“I think my success does have a lot to do with where I grew up, my family and how I was raised,” said Ben in 2005. “I mean, if I could be half the man my dad (Ken) is, I’d be extremely happy. He’s taught me so much about football, about life, religion, family, love, everything. He’s a leader in the real world. He’s the coolest, calmest, most collected guy I know. Whatever I am, I hope it’s a tribute to him.”

 

Burgeoning Superstar

By the time he reached Findlay High School in Findlay, Ohio, Ben was growing in height, ascending past six feet, and his athletic ability was also sprouting rapidly.

While playing hoops for the Trojans, Roethlisberger would ask the referees about rule book minutiae and then go about wrecking opponents on offense and defense.

He would eventually become the leading point scorer in school history while serving as the team captain for the Trojans’ basketball and baseball teams.

Roethlisberger was also selected for the All-District and All-League teams for both sports.

“Even when he was 15, Ben had a quiet command about him,” said Findlay’s former athletic director and basketball coach, Jerry Snodgrass. “One of the reasons Ben seems so calm is that he’s always been a step ahead of everyone, always looking for an edge, even with the refs.”

On the football field, Roethlisberger was stuck behind the coach’s son, Ryan Hite, for three years at the quarterback position.

Instead, he played receiver, and as a junior, he snagged 57 passes for 757 yards and seven touchdowns.

The offense was potent with Hite throwing passes and Roethlisberger, now standing at 6’4”, catching the ball.

“People in the past would ask me, ‘What was Ben like as a receiver?’ I would say, he’d always come back to the huddle and always say he was wide-open,” Hite said.

When the season ended, Roethlisberger was chosen as All-District for his outstanding play.

 

Senior Year

Hite’s graduation in the spring of 1999 opened the door for Roethlisberger to be the starting QB for his senior year in the fall of ‘99.

Until that point, there wasn’t a lot of college interest in his receiving skills, though there was some interest in his basketball skills.

However, colleges came calling in bunches when Roethlisberger tossed no less than six touchdowns in his first game under center.

In fact, the very next day, a coach from Miami University of Ohio, based in Oxford, Ohio, offered the kid a scholarship.

Roethlisberger continued throwing the ball with uncanny accuracy and spectacular motion (according to college coaches) all season, leading the Trojans as the team captain to 10 wins.

Findlay High then advanced to the second round of the state playoffs, before losing to Grove City.

During the season, he shattered school records by passing for 4,041 yards and 54 touchdowns and rushing for seven more scores.

Roethlisberger was named Ohio’s Division I Player of the Year and came up second for the Ohio Mr. Football Award.

“I saw two things that set him apart,” says Hite. “First was his view. At 6-5 he could simply see so much better than anyone else. He saw things nobody else saw. And he had a knack for seeing the whole field. His vision is what made him such a good basketball player as well. The other thing was his knack for escapability,” adds Hite. “It was almost ridiculous the way he could get out of trouble and make something happen. He learned to throw on the run here and in junior high. We didn’t have the most dominant offensive line and he ran for his life a little bit at both levels.”

 

Slinging It For the RedHawks

Roethlisberger was approached by several name-brand colleges by the spring of his senior year.

Ultimately, he decided to keep his commitment to the Miami RedHawks, and head coach Terry Hoeppner.

During the 2000-2001 season, he sat on the bench and redshirted while the program went 6-5 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC).

Then, coming out of fall camp in 2001, Roethlisberger was named the starter, and he never looked back.

After losing the first two games of the season to Big Ten schools Michigan and Iowa, the RedHawks reeled off seven consecutive wins,

The highlight during the winning streak was on October 13 against Akron University.

Miami was losing by three late in the game, and only three seconds showed on the clock.

From his own 30-yard line, Roethlisberger reared back and whipped a pass downfield to receiver Eddie Tillitz.

RedHawks fans held their breath as the ball was tipped, then caught by Tillitz for a touchdown and an improbable 30-27 victory.

While the home crowd yelled, “…it ain’t over Tillitz over!” Roethlisberger basked in the joy of his single-game record of 399 passing yards.

Three straight losses to end the year put the RedHawks at 7-5, although Roethlisberger set a new single-game record with 452 yards against Hawaii in a loss on November 17.

Despite the losing streak, Number 7 (a number he picked because of his idol, John Elway) had a great freshman year.

He was named a Freshman All-American, MAC Freshman of the Year, and received All-MAC honors following 3,105 passing yards (a conference record), 31 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and three scores on the ground.

 

More Program Records Fall

In 2002, Miami went 7-5 again, and Roethlisberger had 3,238 passing yards (a team single-season record), 22 touchdowns, 11 picks, and a touchdown rushing, leading to another All-MAC selection.

On October 12, the RedHawks faced Northern Illinois, and the QB completed 41 of his 61 passes for yet another single-game record of 525 passing yards.

An astounding 10 different teammates hauled in a Roethlisberger pass during the game, although Miami still lost, 48-41.

During the season, the QB also played punter on occasion and booted the pigskin 11 total times for 482 yards and a 43.8 yards-per-kick average.

Roethlisberger punted twice against the University of North Carolina in Week 1 and averaged 51 yards per kick.

Later in the season, he backed the Toledo Rockets inside their own 10-yard line on three different occasions.

The RedHawks won 27-13 that day, and Roethlisberger was named MAC Special Teams Player of the Week.

 

2003

Turns out “Big Ben” (so named because he stood 6’5” and hovered near 240 pounds, but was also known for his big-play ability) was just getting started.

Miami lost its first game of the 2003 season to Iowa, then never lost again.

On September 20 at Colorado State, Roethlisberger led the RedHawks to a 41-21 win.

The game happened to be the 1,000th contest in school history, and Roethlisberger became the first QB in program history to pass for over 7,000 career yards.

By the middle of the season, the RedHawks were playing in their first-ever nationally televised game, primarily due to Big Ben’s accomplishments.

Bowling Green, ranked 15th in the country at the time, was embarrassed 33-10 on live TV.

Eight days later, Roethlisberger and company crushed Marshall, 45-6, to qualify for the MAC Championship.

For the second time in a month, Miami and Bowling Green met, this time to settle who was best in the conference.

Once again, it was Roethlisberger (with his title game record 440 passing yards) and the RedHawks prevailing, 49-27.

Following a 12-win season, Miami played in a bowl game for the first time since 1986.

The University of Louisville didn’t stand a chance and lost 49-28 to the RedHawks in the GMAC Bowl.

Roethlisberger tossed four touchdown passes before halftime and was named the game’s MVP.

Miami’s 13 wins set a new school record, and the team also set a new program record of 603 total points scored during the season.

 

Gamechanger

American Football on Field

 

As a junior, Roethlisberger had 495 attempts and 342 completions for 4,486 yards, 37 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and three touchdowns rushing.

His attempts, completions, yardage, and touchdowns all led the conference and also set Miami program records for a single season.

Additionally, he punted the ball 12 times for 454 yards, and a 37.8 yards-per-boot average.

During awards season in 2003, Roethlisberger was voted a third-team All-American, MAC Offensive Player of the Year, an All-MAC selection for the third time, and he finished ninth in Heisman Trophy voting.

For his Miami career, Roethlisberger passed for 10,829 yards, 84 touchdowns, 34 picks, and rushed for 246 yards and seven more touchdowns.

He also punted the ball 24 times for 963 yards and a 40.1-yard average per kick.

In 2007, his number 7 was retired, just the third football player in school history to receive such an honor.

Roethlisberger was inducted into the Miami Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013 and the MAC Hall of Fame in 2015.

 

First Round Pick

flag with the NFL logo waving

 

Although Roethlisberger could have stuck around for his senior year, there wasn’t anything left to play for, and he had already broken several school, conference, and NCAA records.

He declared for the 2004 NFL Draft and was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 11th overall pick in the first round (the third signal-caller taken after Eli Manning and Philip Rivers).

The selection made the QB the highest-drafted player in RedHawks football history.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and its fans were in desperate need of a new franchise QB.

Terry Bradshaw helped lead the organization to its first four Super Bowls (all victories) in the 1970s.

However, ever since he retired following the 1983 season, the team struggled to find a consistent performer under center.

There had been moments, such as when Neil O’Donnell guided the Steelers to the AFC Championship Game in 1994 and Super Bowl XXX in 1995 (a loss to the Cowboys).

In 1997, Kordell “Slash” Stewart and Pittsburgh advanced to the AFC title game again before losing to Denver.

Stewart was still the QB in 2001 when the Steelers lost to New England in the AFC Championship.

The following year, Tommy Maddox, a former first-round pick of the Broncos who had almost washed out of the game, took the team to the divisional round.

 

White Hot

As inspiring as the 2002 season was with Maddox, the Pittsburgh front office wasn’t convinced he was the long-term solution.

Before the 2004 draft, head coach Bill Cowher wanted to select Shawn Andrews, a guard from Arkansas.

That’s when team owner Dan Rooney stepped in.

After Bradshaw retired, the Steelers had an opportunity to grab home-grown talent Dan Marino in the 1984 draft, and badly whiffed by instead choosing Texas Tech nose tackle Gabe Rivera (who was permanently paralyzed during the ‘84 season).

Rooney didn’t want a repeat of that mistake and told Cowher they would draft Roethlisberger.

The expectation during training camp was that the rookie would sit for his first year and learn the playbook behind Maddox and veteran Charlie Batch.

That notion came to a screeching halt after Batch was injured in the preseason and Maddox was injured in Week 2.

Roethlisberger stepped under center as the starter in Week 3, and the Steelers looked reborn.

On Halloween, the QB helped Pittsburgh get past unbeaten New England, the previous season’s Super Bowl winner.

A week later, unbeaten Philadelphia came to town, and Roethlisberger tossed two touchdowns in a 27-3 blowout victory.

He continued to roll, and the Steelers went 13-0 with him under center, the best start by a rookie QB in NFL history, and Pittsburgh’s overall record of 15-1 was the best in franchise history.

Roethlisberger and company then beat the New York Jets in overtime of the divisional round before New England got some revenge by humbling the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game.

When the season ended, Roethlisberger was named the league’s Offensive Rookie of the Year and selected for the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

 

2005

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

 

In 2005, Pittsburgh and Roethlisberger were ready to go one step further in the playoffs.

Although he missed four games with knee injuries, the QB led the NFL in four categories while passing for 2,385 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The Steelers went 11-5 in the regular season and had to go on the road for the playoffs.

Cincinnati was the first domino to fall in the wild-card round.

Next, the Indianapolis Colts and QB Peyton Manning fell to Big Ben in the divisional round.

During the contest, Colts corner Nick Harper scooped up a Jerome Bettis fumble and was on his way to a touchdown.

Somehow, Roethlisberger got just enough of Harper to make a tackle, and Indy was forced to kick a field goal.

Roethlisberger’s tackle helped Pittsburgh advance, 21-18.

On January 22, the Steelers flew to Denver and humbled the Broncos 34-17 in the AFC Championship Game as Big Ben tossed two touchdowns and scored once on the ground.

 

Super Bowl XL

super bowl

 

It was fitting that the Steelers were playing in Super Bowl XL because Roethlisberger’s year was XL itself.

However, the Seattle Seahawks were ready and made his day miserable.

Over the course of the game, Roethlisberger flung 21 passes in the direction of his receivers, but only completed nine of them.

His 22.6 passer rating was the lowest in the entire history of the Super Bowl by a winning QB.

Despite his setbacks, number 7 composed himself just enough on big plays to keep the Steelers in it.

On a third-and-28 play in the second quarter, he fired the ball to receiver Hines Ward for a 37-yard completion that eventually led to a Roethlisberger one-yard run.

He also converted on seven more third-down situations to help the franchise outlast the Seahawks, 21-10.

With the win, Roethlisberger became the youngest QB (23 years old) to win a Super Bowl.

 

Motorcycle Accident Nearly Ends Big Ben’s Career

The Steelers headed into the following summer intent on resting up before another push for a championship.

Those aspirations appeared questionable at best when scary news rocked the team and the NFL world.

On June 12, 2006, Roethlisberger was driving a motorcycle he did not have a proper permit for, and crashed when a vehicle in front of him turned.

Upon impact, he flew over the handlebars and into the windshield of the car.

Making matters worse, he wasn’t wearing a helmet and suffered severe injuries, including a broken jaw and nose, a nine-inch laceration on the back of his head, lost teeth, and significant bleeding in his throat that required paramedics to stabilize him on the spot.

Roethlisberger then underwent immediate surgery that lasted seven hours.

“He suffered multiple facial fractures,” Dr. Daniel Pituch of Mercy Hospital said at a news conference. “All of the fractures were successfully repaired. His brain, spine, chest and abdomen appear to be without serious injury. And there are no other confirmed injuries at this time.”

Remarkably, Roethlisberger recovered in time to play in the preseason.

 

Another Super Bowl Run

superbowl

 

Pittsburgh followed up its first Super Bowl win since 1979 with an 8-8 dud in 2006.

Part of the problem that year was the distraction of Roethlisberger’s motorcycle accident, as well as his pacing the NFL with 23 interceptions.

In 2007, under new head coach Mike Tomlin, he helped the team rebound with 3,154 passing yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a career-high 204 rushing yards and two rushing scores.

The Steelers lost in the wild-card round to Jacksonville, but Big Ben was selected for his first Pro Bowl.

A year later, he started 16 games for the first time and led Pittsburgh to a 12-4 record with 3,301 passing yards and 17 touchdowns.

The San Diego Chargers arrived in the Steel City for the divisional round and left with a 35-24 loss.

Next to fall was division rival Baltimore, a game sealed when safety Troy Polamalu picked off a Joe Flacco pass and returned it 40 yards for a 23-14 victory.

 

Super Bowl XLIII

super bowl

 

Only five years into his career, Roethlisberger was establishing himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL.

Unlike his first Super Bowl, Big Ben played lights out in his second appearance in Super Bowl XLIII against the surprising Arizona Cardinals and quarterback Kurt Warner.

During the Steelers’ first two drives, he connected on all but one pass and looked sharp.

Just before halftime, linebacker James Harrison stepped in front of a Warner pass at the Pittsburgh goal line and returned it 100 yards for a 17-7 lead.

Then, after increasing their lead to 20-7 early in the third, Warner got the Cards back in it with two touchdown throws and a 23-20 lead.

With 2:30 remaining, Roethlisberger calmly led the Steelers 88 yards to the Arizona six-yard line.

On second down, he took the snap and lofted a pass in the direction of receiver Santonio Holmes.

The pass looked like it would float out of bounds until Holmes reached up, snagged the ball, and kept both toes barely in bounds.

“My feet never left the ground,” said Holmes. “All I did was extend my arms and use my toes as an extension to catch up to the ball.”

After a booth review, the play was ruled a touchdown, and Roethlisberger had a second world title in hand with a 27-23 win.

Holmes was the MVP of the contest, but Roethlisberger had a solid outing of 256 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

 

Troubling Allegations

In the summer of 2009, and only five months removed from the team’s championship, Roethlisberger was in the news again for all the wrong reasons.

On July 21, news broke that a female employee at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, filed a lawsuit against the QB for an incident the previous year.

According to the woman, Roethlisberger, whom she had met the day before, called her to his hotel room, claiming his television wasn’t working properly.

When she arrived, the employee found that the television was working fine, but Roethlisberger wouldn’t allow her to leave and raped her.

After the news reached the public, David Cornwell, Roethlisberger’s attorney, denied the allegations.

“Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct,” Cornwell said in a statement. “If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated.”

In 2012, the case was settled out of court.

 

More Trouble and Repercussions

Roethlisberger shook off the ongoing rape case in 2009 to pass for 4,328 yards (the first 4,000-yard season of his career) as the Steelers went 9-7 and missed the postseason.

Then, on March 5, 2010, ESPN reported that a woman in Georgia claimed that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her in a restroom at a nightclub.

Ed Garland, who had defended then-Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis for the latter’s murder trial in 2000, was hired by Roethlisberger to defend him.

The charges against Roethlisberger were dismissed in April as the victim decided not to file criminal charges because of intense media backlash.

However, she did not change the details or retract her allegation.

Although Roethlisberger dodged a bullet, being accused of two sexual assault claims in the same year created backlash across the country.

Pittsburgh fans expressed disgust about Big Ben to the media, and team president Art Rooney II was angry at his quarterback.

Furthermore, a few companies associated with Roethlisberger through various endorsements ended their agreements with him.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was appalled at the allegations, and handed out a six-game suspension.

The suspension was later reduced to four games before the 2010 season after Roethlisberger convinced Goodell that he was reforming his wayward behavior.

“I have learned a lot over the past several months about myself as a person,” Roethlisberger said in a statement. “I am committed to continuing on this path of being the type of person my family raised me to be, and exceeding what is expected of me as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.”

 

Pittsburgh Comes Up Short In 2010

detailed view of a Pittsburgh Steelers helmet
(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

 

If Big Ben had any chance of redeeming himself with Steelers fans, it was staying on the straight and narrow and contending once again for a championship.

He served his suspension to begin the 2010 season, and then looked good in Week 6, throwing 258 yards, three touchdowns and a pick in a 28-10 victory over Cleveland.

A week later, he dove for a touchdown against Miami and appeared to score.

Replays, however, showed that he may have fumbled short of the goal line.

Still, the touchdown stood, and Pittsburgh won two straight.

In Week 9 against New Orleans, he went over the 20,000-yard passing mark for his career.

Pittsburgh ended the year 12-4 while Roethlisberger passed for 3,200 yards, 17 touchdowns and five interceptions, and rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

“For me it felt like we always had a chance when Ben was in the huddle,” said former tight end Heath Miller. “It didn’t matter the talent around. We always had a chance no matter who we were playing because he was in the huddle. He had that confidence, something you have to have at that position. Everyone believed in him.”

The Steelers defeated Baltimore in the divisional round and outlasted the Jets in the AFC Championship Game.

For the third time in seven years, Roethlisberger was under center for another world title shot.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers arrived for Super Bowl XLV white-hot after winning three straight away games in the playoffs.

At one point during the contest, the Steelers fell behind 21-3.

They closed the gap to 21-17 in the third quarter before both teams traded touchdowns in the fourth.

Green Bay proved to be just a little more talented and stole the show with a 31-25 victory.

Roethlisberger ended the day with 263 yards, two touchdowns and two picks.

 

Personal Victories and Accolades

Although Roethlisberger and the Steelers came up short in the Super Bowl, the QB spent the next few years getting his life back on track.

In July 2011, he married Ashley Harlan, a doctor from New Castle, Pennsylvania, and they would eventually have three children.

Roethlisberger returned to Miami University in May 2012 to attend graduation ceremonies after completing his degree in education.

“This day means a lot to me,” said Roethlisberger. “I’m proud of this school, I’m proud of the `M,’ and I’m proud of the education I’ve received here.”

After missing the playoffs in 2012 and 2013, Roethlisberger had another great year in 2014 with a league-high 4,952 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He also led the NFL with 309.5 yards passing per game and was voted to his third Pro Bowl.

In back-to-back weeks against Indianapolis and Baltimore, Big Ben threw six touchdowns in both games without an interception.

During the contest against the Colts, Roethlisberger became the fourth QB in NFL history to reach 100 wins in his first 150 starts.

His 522 passing yards made him the first signal-caller in league history to pass for over 500 yards twice in a career.

A Week 15 victory over Atlanta put the QB in rare company as he became only the sixth quarterback in NFL history to defeat 31 different teams.

 

Milestones

Between 2014 and 2017, Big Ben was voted to the Pro Bowl each year.

After an 11-5 season in 2016, Roethlisberger and the Steelers advanced all the way to the AFC Championship Game before losing to New England.

In 2018, he led the NFL in seven different categories, including 5,129 passing yards (career-high) and 16 picks.

Along the way, he passed his idol, John Elway, for the seventh-most passing yards in league history, and in a Week 2 loss to Kansas City, he was the third QB since 1950 to pass for at least 450 yards, three touchdowns, and run for a score in the same game.

The following year, an elbow injury in Week 2 against Seattle sidelined Roethlisberger for the rest of the 2019 season, the most significant time he missed in his entire career.

Following a 3,800-yard passing season in 2020, Big Ben reached a series of significant milestones in 2021.

During his 18th season, he passed Philip Rivers for fifth all-time in both passing yards and completions.

He also reached 400 career passing touchdowns, which put him in elite company with some of the best in NFL history.

Roethlisberger’s 3,740 passing yards mark that year was the 15th season of at least 3,000 yards, only the sixth player in history to reach that number.

 

Retirement

retirement

 

When the 2021 season concluded, so did Roethlisberger’s career.

“The journey has been exhilarating, fueled by a spirit of competition,” Roethlisberger said. “Yet the time has come to clean out my locker, hang up my cleats and continue to be all I can be to my wife and children. I retire from football a truly grateful man.”

He retired with 64,088 yards, 418 touchdowns, 211 interceptions, 1,373 yards rushing and 20 rushing scores.

For good measure, Big Ben was called upon to punt six times in his career for 188 yards and a 31.3 yards-per-kick average.

Roethlisberger was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, a member of the PFWA All-Rookie Team, a six-time Pro Bowler, a two-time league passing yards leader, and won two of three Super Bowls.

Number 7 owned several records when he left the game, including at least eight NFL records and close to 20 Steelers records.

Regardless of all the accolades, Roethlisberger was more concerned about wins, especially for Pittsburgh fans.

During his career, he was responsible for 92 wins in the Steel City.

“That’s the one that means the most to me because it’s about wins and winning is all I’ve ever really cared about and tried to do,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s not an individual thing. It’s about wins, and that to me is special.”

 

Life After Retirement

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger
(Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

 

Since his retirement, Roethlisberger and his wife have been active in charity, especially with his “Ben Roethlisberger Foundation.”

He has also been involved in a number of start-up companies, including NeoLight, a company for neonatal care, and his own brand of barbecue sauce called Big Ben’s BBQ.

In February 2026, former teammate, linebacker Joey Porter, accused Roethlisberger and fellow linebacker James Harrison of being bad people.

The issue arose after Porter heard both men criticizing now-former coach Tomlin and airing team business on their individual podcasts.

“Won the Super Bowl with him, but the person, he’s just not a good teammate,” said Porter. “He knows that. Anybody in the Steelers building knows that, but we protected him because I’ve only won one Super Bowl, and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah. But is he a good person? No.”

Harrison and a number of Roethlisberger’s former teammates defended him after Porter’s comments aired.

In 2027, Big Ben will be eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and several analysts believe he could be inducted immediately.

 

References

https://www.nfl.com

https://web.archive.org

https://www.espn.com

https://www.espn.com

https://www.abc27.com

https://miamiredhawks.com

https://getsomemaction.com

https://miamiredhawks.com

https://www.police1.com

https://thesteelstudy.com

https://www.maxpreps.com

https://www.espn.com

https://www.espn.com

https://www.steelers.com

https://www.sports-reference.com

bigben7.com

https://www.pro-football-reference.com

clutchpoints.com

https://web.archive.org

NEXT:  The Life And Career Of Tommy Maddox

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Ben Donahue
Contributor at Pro Football History
Over 25 years of experience in sports including coach, athletic director, game day operations, media relations, football operations, and scout. He is [...]

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