@topseed, I don't know why you're so upset. A guy that's earned close to $200M in his career is going to go out with a $10M cap hit. That is nothing when you throw that kind of coin at a football player. Dead money is a part of football and the end of careers for many players. Polamalu was $12M spread out as $6M over 2 years. AB, $21M. Football dead cap isn't magic. It's a player reworking his contract time and time again, to help his team sign and keep players to stay competitive, which is what we have been for 2 decades.
What is a fair value for Ben then? The market is there. Is he better than Andy Dalton? Yes he is and AD made $10M. So $14 ain't breaking the bank. If you think he should play for league minimum, that is just absurd. Ben is not a league minimum QB, he's a franchise QB, and has been our franchise for the past 18 years. We get one more year with the guy, so I'm going to enjoy the ride, like I did this year when we were 10-0 before the league ****** us with 4 games in 19 days and we lost key starters.
Ben is a winner, and a healthy Ben with a better line will make him even better. Let's hope we get the draft right!