Rooneys priority cheapest in everything

[CaliforniaChris]

It should be no surprise the Rooneys were going to hire whichever candidate agreed to be cheapest. It's no knock on Mike Tomlin, the Rooneys do have a history of making cheapness the priority in everything they do regarding the Steelers.

All the way back before player salary limits, the Rooneys were the cheapest. After that, this was the only brass who kept Kordell & Mike Tomzack for years because they were cheapest. And I remember the Rooney family had 30 years of sellouts at Three Rivers stadium, yet pocketed the money instead of making any needed improvements to that former stadium's parking etc. Lastly the Rooneys refused to pay market value for Cowher. Cowher is indicated to have wanted market value, which would be Mike Holgram's $8 mil salary, & the Rooneys refused to pay market value. Based on the Rooney's history of cheapness being a priority in every way, is there any wonder the Rooneys might have agreed to now choose whichever candidate agreed to the cheapest salary?

It should be noted Mike Tomlin's price to the Rooneys is only $2.5 million per year. Cowher was reportedly being paid $4 mil. Reports are the Rooneys might have agreed to bump Cowher's pay to around $6.5 mil -still less than Holgram's $8 mil. But the Rooneys even found a way to even pocket some money from a head coach's salary! Because although they'll have to pay this last year of Bill's contract, for then the duration of Tomlin's contract the Rooneys only pay $2.5 mil per year instead of Cowher's current salary.

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChris

Cowher is indicated to have wanted market value, which would be Mike Holgram's $8 mil salary, & the Rooneys refused to pay market value.

And Paul Allen is one of the top 10 richest men in the world with money to burn, while Dan Rooney is not.

[Big D]

I disagree that the rooneys are cheap. I think they are buisnessmen that make the best buisness decisions. You bring up three rivers, funny how we have a brand new state of the art stadium now. I think in the 90's we lost some great players because we were lacking some revenue.

[fansince'76]

Originally Posted by Big D

I think in the 90's we lost some great players because we were lacking some revenue.

Agreed - the early years of Plan B and the salary cap were quite painful for us.

[sumo]

the margins with some NFL teams (not the NFL org. itself) are thinner than most people think - a few teams in the last 20 years have actually come close to bankruptcy (Modell) - I personally think the league should be diverting more money to taking care of guys that sacrificed their health and quality of life in order to play football instead of always looking for ways to increase revenue in order to increase salaries for existing players/coaches...

[CaliforniaChris]

Big D mentioned we have a new stadium but didnt mention the fact that taxpayers paid for most of it. Taxpayers get talked into paying for much of new stadiums everywhere. In the case of the Steelers new stadium, taxpayers paid for most of it: Allegheny County taxpayers paid approx $160 mil of the $280 mil for Heinz Field (per Pgh TribuneReview). I won't expect other owners of NFL teams to get away with paying only that dollar amount for a new NFL stadium to be built. And other owners didnt have the luxury of 30 years of sellouts to sock away cash instead of paying for significant improvements.

[Big D]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaChris

Big D mentioned we have a new stadium but didnt mention the fact that taxpayers paid for most of it. Taxpayers get talked into paying for much of new stadiums everywhere. In the case of the Steelers new stadium, taxpayers paid for most of it: Allegheny County taxpayers paid approx $160 mil of the $280 mil for Heinz Field (per Pgh TribuneReview). I won't expect other owners of NFL teams to get away with paying only that dollar amount for a new NFL stadium to be built. And other owners didnt have the luxury of 30 years of sellouts to sock away cash instead of paying for significant improvements.

yeah but what about all the stadium maintence they had to invest in. The rooneys still had to front 120 million for the stadium. There is alot that goes into being an nfl owner. If you want to see a cheap owner look at the cardinals,bills and bengals

[HometownGal]

It should be noted Mike Tomlin's price to the Rooneys is only $2.5 million per year.

Considering that he is a first-year HC, I think that's a very fair price and obviously Tomlin agreed.

[Big D]

Originally Posted by HometownGal

Considering that he is a first-year HC, I think that's a very fair price and obviously Tomlin agreed.

I couldnt agree with you more. 2.5 million dollars for a 34 year old head coach. I would say thats fair. I'm sure if tomlin is succesfull he will get a raise in two years.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by Big D

I couldnt agree with you more. 2.5 million dollars for a 34 year old head coach. I would say thats fair. I'm sure if tomlin is succesfull he will get a raise in two years.

that was a very fair price and it almost blew my mind it was above 2 mil. lovie smith has been on a 1.35 mil. deal and mike tice was a little below that. of course 4 years from now, if tomlin is successful, the rooneys will have him locked in at 2.5 when new coaches are regularly making about double that.