….in honor of The Masters:


From the Summer of 2015 – The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation Invitational at the beautiful Treesdale Golf & Country Club in Gibsonia, PA.

*Whose in the photos? There’s Merril Hoge, Bob Pompeani, Uncle Brett Keisel, the Tito’s Vodka crew (one of our sponsors), and of course Benjamin Jr. & Baylee!

Oh, and a whole host of anxious golfers ready to start their engines!


You can see more fun photos from 2015 here.

Photos from the 2014’s tournament are here, 2013’s tournament are here, and 2012’s tournament are here (Hey, it’s the off-season, what else do you have to do?).

…to get ready for football season!


From Jeremy Fowler, ESPN.com:

Ben Roethlisberger looked noticeably slimmer in a picture from a recent University of Pittsburgh football practice.

It turns out the Steelers quarterback has lost at least 15 pounds this offseason on a “high-cardio” plan with team trainers, according to Roethlisberger’s agent, Ryan Tollner.

This is a change from the 2015 season, when Roethlisberger was living in the training room with multiple injuries.

“He couldn’t really work out because he kept getting hurt,” Tollner said. “I think he said after the season, you know what, I’m going to lose weight to alleviate potential pain in my joints.”

Roethlisberger, 34, missed four games with a medial collateral ligament sprain and a bone bruise. He also suffered a foot sprain, was under concussion protocol for a week and separated his shoulder on a hit from Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict in an AFC wild-card playoff game.

Word got around that Roethlisberger has been in the workout facility quite often this offseason, and it seems like it’s paying off.


More from Mr. Fowler here.

From an interview in Sports Business Daily conducted by Liz Mullen:

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger still has the handwritten note on a single white piece of paper that his agent, Ryan Tollner, wrote to him before he won his first Super Bowl 10 years ago.

“He wrote this long note saying, ‘No matter what happens tomorrow at the game, we will always be here for you,’” Roethlisberger said. “I still have that letter in my desk in my office. That is a neat thing to have and not something that a lot of agents would have done.”

Tollner has written notes and letters to Roethlisberger before all of his big games in the NFL. They talk on the phone — if not every day, every other day. Tollner gives Roethlisberger advice on dealing with players, coaches and the media. “I don’t really think of him as an agent,” Roethlisberger said. “I think of him as a friend.”

Roethlisberger was the first big client Tollner signed, ahead of when he was selected No. 11 overall in the 2004 draft. Since then, Tollner has signed Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles and Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota. He represents those players and about 45 other NFL players with his partners: his older cousin Bruce; agent Chase Callahan; and marketing agent Nima Zarrabi.

Rep 1 also represents quarterbacks Carson Wentz (North Dakota State) and Jared Goff (California), both of whom who could be selected at the top of this year’s NFL draft. Tollner, before his agency days, was a quarterback at Cal, too.

Roethlisberger said Tollner’s ability to build relationships based on friendship, honesty and trust is the reason for his success. He said he has talked a little bit with Tollner about what he might do when he retires from playing football, as well. “We will be best friends forever, there is no doubt about it,” Roethlisberger said. “I don’t know what I am going to do afterward, but … he will be a part of my life, whatever I do.”


You can read more on Mr. Tollner here.

…times 3!

Kevin J Cousino, of KJC Custom Sports Figures made this awesome 3-figure “Big Ben – Threw the Years” display for the man himself:

“I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio born and have been following Ben since his senior year in high school. I was approached about creating something special for him and this is how it started!

Findlay High School provided some awesome reference pictures for the one figure, and I researched his Miami uniform online…and well, the Steelers uniform I could do in my sleep, lol. As a fan of the team since I was five years old (1975) it was an honor to create something specially for him. I hope he likes it!” — Kevin.

Here’s a close-up of Kevin’s “Big Ben – Threw the Years” display:



You can see more of his amazing creations here.

You can also check out the individual pieces in Ben’s gallery.

From Jeremy Fowler, ESPN.com:

Ben Roethlisberger sometimes goes overlooked in the discussion of the league’s best quarterbacks.

He shouldn’t, multiple NFL head coaches say.

From the NFL owners meetings last week, Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, Arizona Cardinals coach Bruce Arians and Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer all said Roethlisberger belongs among the top guys.

Lewis and Arians, in particular, pointed out the Pittsburgh Steelers’ long-standing defensive reputation hurts Roethlisberger’s cause.

“Right in the top three,” said Arians, Roethlisberger’s offensive coordinator from 2007-11, about Roethlisberger’s ranking. “I don’t know who the other two are … I feel like he is [No. 1]. He’s won two Super Bowls. He’s done all the things the other guys have done. He doesn’t get the credit for it.”

A partially subjective quarterback conversation almost always includes Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, sometimes includes the younger group such as Russell Wilson, Cam Newton and Andrew Luck, and typically places Roethlisberger somewhere in that mix, depending on the year.

For much of his career, Roethlisberger was known more for winning than for passing stats. The past two years, however, he’s averaged nearly 318 passing yards per game. At age 34, Roethlisberger gives the Steelers a good three to four more prime years for the franchise to build around.

Considering those passing stats, Arians joked that the Steelers offensive staff opened things up “without getting fired,” a nod to Arians’ clumsy “retirement” announcement in early 2012.

Zimmer said he judges quarterbacks by whether they give their teams a chance to win every week. Only a “handful” of guys do that, he said.

“Roethlisberger, Brady, Rodgers, those guys, when they have the ball in their hands at the end of the game, it’s scary for a defense,” Zimmer said. “[Roethlisberger] is a great competitor, throws the ball extremely well. He’s very much like really all the great quarterbacks. Over the years, we gave him some of the best hits he’s ever had and he gets up and shakes them off.”

Zimmer recalls a moment from his tenure as Bengals defensive coordinator when he called a blitz and two defenders went completely unblocked. Roethlisberger pump-faked, got past both of them and threw a touchdown, Zimmer said.

“He should be [among the best], for what he’s […]

From Jeremy Fowler, ESPN.com:

As the Pittsburgh Steelers formulate their draft plans, they have the backdrop of a top-shelf quarterback seemingly not slowing any time soon.

Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said this offseason that Ben Roethlisberger probably has several more prime years. The franchise intends to exploit that window.

“Ben’s a franchise quarterback,” Colbert said while reflecting on Roethlisberger and his growth since the 2004 draft. “There are a few that have two [or more Super Bowls since 2004], but he’s one of those few. We’re very fortunate. We still have, you know, we think three to four more good years in his prime. We’re excited to see what he can do in that time period and what we can do to help him be successful.”

Colbert isn’t capping Roethlisberger’s career, but he’s pointing out how the team plans to maximize the talent around Roethlisberger during what would be classified as his best remaining years.

Roethlisberger turned 34 in March and will be 37 entering the 2019 season.

Successful quarterbacks playing into their middle to late 30s isn’t a new thing. The New Orleans Saints are reworking a deal for the 37-year-old Drew Brees, who’s no longer in his prime but still very effective. Tom Brady, who will be 39 in August, threw for 4,770 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions for the New England Patriots last season.

Roethlisberger has said in the past he’ll continue playing until his body tells him to shut it down. In 2015, Roethlisberger averaged nearly 330 passing yards per game in 12 regular-season games.

Roethlisberger’s contract extension runs to 2019. By then, the Steelers will know how many prime years he has left.


You can read more here.