‘Agent Tollner says he will miss those post-game chats with Big Ben’
From Liz Mullen, Sports Business Journal:
For 18 years, Ben Roethlisberger talked to his agent Ryan Tollner after every single NFL game he played. Sometimes Tollner would go to the game and they would talk afterward. Sometimes the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback would call him.
“They could be 30 seconds to 20 minutes, depending,” Tollner, CEO of Rep 1 Sports, said of the calls. “We’re talking about a lot of football games over 18 years.”
The conversation would always start with Tollner inquiring about Roethlisberger’s health. Roethlisberger retired with many records, including being sacked 554 times — the most of any quarterback in the NFL — while leading the Steelers to the playoffs 11 times and winning two Super Bowls.
So it was with mixed emotions that Tollner watched Roethlisberger’s last game, in cold Kansas City, losing to the Chiefs in a game the quarterback had publicly predicted the Steelers had no chance to win.
“I’m happy for him that it’s ended on his terms, in a sense,” Tollner said. “He was able to play his entire career for the Steelers and he is walking away from the game healthy, relatively healthy. And that he has been recognized pretty widely here in the sports world for being one of the all-time greats and a true warrior.”
Roethlisberger retired with the fifth most passing yards in NFL history, fifth most wins as an NFL quarterback, and one of three quarterbacks — along with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning — to have both thrown for 50,000 yards and won at least two Super Bowls.
Still, watching that Sunday night game was bittersweet for Tollner. “It was a sad night, I guess, to see him move down the field on the final drive knowing, ‘This is it. This is the last pass we are going to see him throw.’”
Tollner, himself, played backup quarterback at Cal before becoming an agent, which may be one reason why he and Roethlisberger became so close. Roethlisberger told Sports Business Journal in 2016 that he thinks of Tollner as a friend, not an agent.
Don’t look for Roethlisberger to take up coaching or broadcasting or other common paths taken by famous retired athletes, at least not in the near term, Tollner said. “I don’t think he has any aspirations to do anything in the public eye. […]
January 3rd: “If Ben ever sees this, we did try our best to be there”
Taylor and Bailey left Oak Island, NC at 7:30am for Heinz Field to see Big Ben & the Steelers play the Browns that evening…but Mother Nature had other plans. They got as far as I-95 in Northern Virginia when ice and snow on the interstate stopped them in their tracks – literally.
From Nicole Ford, WPXI-TV:
From snowflakes to stranded — for 16 hours on Monday, Taylor Mooney and Bailey Ferguson sat just 26 miles north of Richmond on I-95.
“Terrible just terrible. There was three inches of just solid ice covering the entire road. So anytime we attempted to get out of the vehicle you were just sliding everywhere,” Ferguson said.
The destination for the two was Pittsburgh just in time for the Steelers’ kickoff. This duo left Oak Island, North Carolina, by car after two canceled flights determined to be in their seats for Big Ben’s last home game. It was around 1 p.m. when the trip came to a halt.
“We tried everything. We said okay maybe we will make it after the first quarter, maybe we will make it for halftime, maybe we will make it for the last two minutes of the game that’s what kept us going for so many hours. Just maybe we will get to pull into the parking lot of people celebrating in the parking lot as they are leaving,” Ferguson said.
It wasn’t until about 5 a.m. Tuesday that things got moving and that they finally got off the interstate.
From Taylor’s Facebook page on January 4th:
Well I’m sure MANY of you have seen the news about all the horrendous incidents from I-95 over the past 2 days. Well, me and Bailey had the pleasure of getting stuck alongside many others in Virginia. We left Oak Island at 7:30 yesterday morning to head to Pittsburgh for the game last night, due to our flight getting cancelled twice, thankfully we stopped at 11:30 for food and to fill up the tank (unfortunately we didn’t get snacks which we did regret later on). We hit the traffic around 1pm and moved 26 miles in 16 hours, 8 of those hours in which we were in ‘park’ – completely stopped on the interstate. […]
Ignite Men’s Weekend
For the non-tweeters
Thank You 7️⃣‼️ #RiseUpRedHawks | 🎓🏆
steeltown legend. 7️⃣ nothing but respect for an incredible career, @_BigBen7. next stop? canton.
#HereWeGo
"I'm gonna get one of these at some point."
"I need one too!"
Jersey exchange coming between Roethlisberger and @PatrickMahomes. #NFLPlayoffs #SuperWildCard pic.twitter.com/L9YKohj9aN
— NFL (@NFL) January 17, 2022
It’s hard to put into words the amount of gratitude I’ve felt in the last few weeks. I’ve been preparing for the moment I got to start in my first NFL playoff game my entire life, but never did I imagine it would be with a future Hall of Famer like Ben Roethlisberger. #HereWeGo
Congrats Ben on a legendary 18-yr career, 2 Rings, and never having had a losing season. It’s been an honor to be front row for a portion of it. Best wishes for you, Ashley and the kids. God Bless!🚀#HallOfFameBound
"Tough, durable, dependable, and yet at times unpredictable."@RichGannon12 on how he will remember the career of @Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
👇AUDIO👇 | #Steelers | #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/DNz7vfeayI
— SiriusXM NFL Radio (@SiriusXMNFL) January 17, 2022
@_BigBen7 CONGRATULATIONS my man! What a career! Steeler Nation and the NFL will miss you! Enjoy your family, and expanding God’s Kingdom Flexed biceps LOVE YOU brother! The snowmobiles are ready for you!!
Been a heck of a ride @_BigBen7 with one of the best QB’s in the game. It’s given me a chance to cover you over the years and capture some incredible images/moments. Next stop, next images will be in Canton. Looking forward to that evening. Best of Luck #7 #NFL
Back in 1999-I was a young sportscaster and @steelers @_BigBen7 Ben Roethlisberger was a high school senior & QB at Findlay High School. […]
Ben: ‘I’m proud to play with these guys’
“I’m proud to play with these guys. God has blessed me with an ability to throw a football and has blessed me to play in the greatest city, in Pittsburgh with the greatest fans and the greatest football team and players. And it has just been truly a blessing and I’m so thankful to Him for the opportunity that He’s given me.”
From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:
On a night that Ben Roethlisberger wanted nothing more than to deliver another win for Steelers Nation, and just weeks after saying that “all signs are pointing” to it being the final season of his career, he instead was talking about what the season – and the Steelers – meant to him after the 42-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round.
“Just a bunch of guys that fought for each other, that fought their butts off and just competed. It wasn’t always pretty, but there are a lot of games that we found a way. I’m so proud of this group of men and the way they fight for each other, for the black and gold, for our fans. It’s just been an honor to play with them.”
Roethlisberger has epitomized what it means to be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is someone who understands the tradition of the organization, and hopes the one thing he has done is pass along that legacy to younger players when talking about the impact he has had on the franchise.
“I’ve been here a long time, and it’s been a lot of fun,” said Roethlisberger. “Like I said, God has blessed me. We joke about the Browns and going there (in the NFL Draft), but it was meant to be that I was going to wear black and gold. Draft day I had a black suit on with a gold tie.
“I’m just so thankful. I hope that that I’m able to pass the legacy of what it is to be a Steeler from Dan Rooney. We all miss him, anyone that knew him misses him. Hopefully I can pass some of that on to some of the guys and they can continue the tradition of what it means to be a Steeler and get passed down.
“Whenever you get a bunch of new guys, once […]