Ben Roethlisberger facts for kids

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"Roethlisberger" redirects here. For the surname, see Roethlisberger (surname).

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Ben Roethlisberger

Roethlisberger with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2021

No. 7

Position:

Quarterback

Personal information

Born:

March 2, 1982 (age 43)
Lima, Ohio, U.S.

Height:

6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)

Weight:

240 lb (109 kg)

Career information

High school:

Findlay
(Findlay, Ohio)

College:

Miami (OH) (2000–2003)

NFL Draft:

2004 / Round: 1 / Pick: 11

Career history

Pittsburgh Steelers (2004)

Career highlights and awards

2× Super Bowl champion (XL, XLIII)
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2004)
6× Pro Bowl (2007, 2011, 2014–2017)
2× NFL passing yards leader (2014, 2018)
PFWA All-Rookie Team (2004)
Third-team All-American (2003)
MAC Most Valuable Player (2003)
MAC Offensive Player of the Year (2003)
MAC Freshman of the Year (2001)
Miami RedHawks No. 7 retired

NFL records

Career 500-yard passing games: 4
Completions in a game: 47
Wins in a season by a rookie quarterback: 13 (tied)
Games with a perfect passer rating: 4 (tied)

Career NFL statistics

Passing attempts:	8,443
Passing completions:	5,440
Completion percentage:	64.4%
TD–INT:	418–211
Passing yards:	64,088
Passer rating:	93.5

Player stats at PFR

Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (born March 2, 1982), often called "Big Ben", is a former American football quarterback. He played for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Miami RedHawks. The Steelers chose him in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft.

Roethlisberger won the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award in 2004. He was first picked for the Pro Bowl in 2007. In 2006, he became the youngest Super Bowl-winning quarterback in NFL history. He won Super Bowl XL at age 23, in only his second season. Roethlisberger led the Steelers to another Super Bowl title in 2009. They beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII with a game-winning touchdown pass. He played in his third Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLV but lost to the Green Bay Packers.

Roethlisberger was one of the best passers in NFL history. When he retired, he was 5th all-time in NFL career passing yards (64,088). He was also 8th in touchdowns (418) and 5th in completions (5,440). He had a very high winning percentage as a starter. He was known for playing "backyard football" style, moving outside the passing pocket. He looked up to John Elway and wore number 7 because of him.

Early Life and College Football
Professional Career Highlights
NFL Career Statistics
Charitable Work
Personal Life
Images for kids

Early Life and College Football

High School Days

At Findlay High School in Findlay, Ohio, Ben Roethlisberger was a leader. He was captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. Interestingly, he did not play quarterback until his senior year. Before that, he played as a wide receiver.

Playing for the Miami RedHawks

Roethlisberger's college number retired before a 2007 Miami game.

Roethlisberger played college quarterback at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He started playing in 2001. In his first year, he set a school record with 399 passing yards in one game. He finished his first season with 3,105 passing yards and 25 touchdowns.

In 2002, he broke another record with 525 passing yards in a game. He also set a Miami single-season record with 3,238 passing yards.

His best college season was in 2003. He led the Miami RedHawks to 12 wins in a row. They won the 2003 GMAC Bowl. He had 4,486 passing yards and 37 touchdowns that year. He was named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year.

Miami University retired his jersey number 7 on October 13, 2007. He was only the third football player in Miami history to have his number retired.

College Statistics

Season	Games		Passing							Rushing
Season	GP	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	TD	Int	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
2001	12	7–5	241	381	63.3	3,105	8.1	21	2	120	189	1.6	3
2002	12	7–5	271	428	63.3	3,238	7.6	22	11	82	54	0.7	1
2003	14	13–1	342	495	69.1	4,486	9.1	37	10	67	111	1.7	3
Career	38	27–11	854	1,304	65.5	10,829	8.3	80	23	269	354	1.3	7

Professional Career Highlights

Joining the Pittsburgh Steelers (2004)

Roethlisberger takes a snap against the Bengals in 2006

The Pittsburgh Steelers picked Ben Roethlisberger 11th overall in the 2004 NFL draft. He was the highest-drafted quarterback for the Steelers since 1970. He signed a six-year contract with the team.

He started his first season as the third quarterback. But due to injuries to other players, he became the starter early on. As a rookie, he led the Steelers to a 13–0 record in the regular season. This was a record for a rookie quarterback. He was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He also helped the Steelers end the New England Patriots' 21-game winning streak.

First Super Bowl Championship (2005)

Roethlisberger at the Super Bowl Parade

In 2005, the Steelers had an 11–5 record. Roethlisberger led them to the playoffs. They won three road playoff games, which was a tough path to the Super Bowl.

The Steelers won Super Bowl XL 21–10 against the Seattle Seahawks. Roethlisberger became the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl at 23 years old. Even though his passing stats weren't great in that game, he made important plays. He helped the team convert eight third-down situations.

Injuries and Comebacks (2006-2017)

Roethlisberger faced several injuries throughout his career. He missed games due to various issues, but often returned to play. In 2006, he had a tough season with many interceptions. However, he finished strong, leading the Steelers to a win in the final game.

In 2007, he had a great comeback season. He threw four touchdown passes in Week 1. In Week 9, he threw a career-high five touchdown passes and had a perfect passer rating. He broke the Steelers' single-season touchdown pass record with 32. He was selected for his first Pro Bowl.

Second Super Bowl Championship (2008)

Roethlisberger (7) kneeling out the win for the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII

In 2008, Roethlisberger signed a big new contract. He led the Steelers to a 12–4 record. They won the AFC North division.

In Super Bowl XLIII, the Steelers played the Arizona Cardinals. Roethlisberger led a dramatic game-winning drive. With 2:30 left, he marched the Steelers 88 yards. He threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with only 35 seconds remaining. This sealed the 27–23 victory for the Steelers.

Record-Breaking Seasons (2009-2018)

Roethlisberger in Denver in 2009

In 2009, Roethlisberger had a huge game against the Green Bay Packers. He threw for 503 yards and three touchdowns. He led a game-winning drive with no time left. He broke Terry Bradshaw's single-season passing yards record. He finished the season with over 4,000 passing yards.

In 2010, he returned after missing some games. He led the Steelers to another Super Bowl appearance. In Super Bowl XLV, they lost to the Green Bay Packers.

Roethlisberger throwing for a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns in November 2013

From 2013, Roethlisberger was part of the "Killer B's" era. This included him, wide receiver Antonio Brown, and running back Le'veon Bell. In 2014, he had an amazing game against the Indianapolis Colts. He threw for a career-high 522 yards and six touchdowns. He became the first NFL quarterback to pass for over 500 yards twice in his career. He tied for the most passing yards in the league that season with 4,952.

In 2017, he became the eighth quarterback to reach 50,000 career passing yards. In Week 14, he threw for 506 yards. This made him the first player in NFL history with three career 500-yard passing games.

In 2018, Roethlisberger led the league in passing yards with 5,129. He also set new Steelers franchise records for passing yards and touchdowns in a season (34).

Later Career and Retirement (2019-2022)

Roethlisberger playing for the Steelers in 2020

In 2019, Roethlisberger suffered a serious elbow injury early in the season. He missed the rest of the year after surgery. He made a strong return in 2020. He led the Steelers to their best start in franchise history, 8–0. He finished the 2020 season with 3,803 passing yards and 33 touchdowns. In a playoff game, he set an NFL record with 47 pass completions.

Roethlisberger leading the Steelers offense against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 Wild Card round, his final game before retirement

In 2021, Roethlisberger played his final season. He led the Steelers to a 9–7–1 record and a playoff spot. On January 27, 2022, Ben Roethlisberger announced his retirement from the NFL.

Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger

After retiring, Roethlisberger started a podcast called Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. He talks about his life after football, shares stories from his time with the Steelers, and interviews other players and coaches.

NFL Career Statistics

Legend
	Won the Super Bowl
	Led the league
Bold	Career high

Regular Season Stats

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Rushing					Sacked		Fumbles
Year	Team	GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	Lng	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Sck	YdsL	Fum	Lost
2004	PIT	14	13	13–0	196	295	66.4	2,621	8.9	58	17	11	98.1	56	144	2.6	20	1	30	213	2	2
2005	PIT	12	12	9–3	168	268	62.7	2,385	8.9	85	17	9	98.6	31	69	2.2	13	3	23	129	2	1
2006	PIT	15	15	7–8	280	469	59.7	3,513	7.5	67	18	23	75.4	32	98	3.1	20	2	46	280	5	2
2007	PIT	15	15	10–5	264	404	65.3	3,154	7.8	83	32	11	104.1	35	204	5.8	30T	2	47	347	9	3
2008	PIT	16	16	12–4	281	469	59.9	3,301	7.0	65	17	15	80.1	34	101	3.0	17	2	46	284	14	7
2009	PIT	15	15	9–6	337	506	66.6	4,328	8.6	60	26	12	100.5	40	82	2.1	15	2	50	348	7	3
2010	PIT	12	12	9–3	240	389	61.7	3,200	8.2	56	17	5	97.0	34	176	5.2	31	2	32	220	7	3
2011	PIT	15	15	11–4	324	513	63.2	4,077	7.9	95	21	14	90.1	31	70	2.3	11	0	40	269	8	5
2012	PIT	13	13	7–6	284	449	63.3	3,265	7.3	82	26	8	97.0	26	92	3.5	14	0	30	182	6	3
2013	PIT	16	16	8–8	375	584	64.2	4,261	7.3	67	28	14	92.0	27	99	3.7	19	1	42	282	9	6
2014	PIT	16	16	11–5	408	608	67.1	4,952	8.1	94	32	9	103.3	33	27	0.8	8	0	33	172	9	5
2015	PIT	12	11	7–4	319	469	68.0	3,938	8.4	69	21	16	94.5	15	29	1.9	13	0	20	141	2	0
2016	PIT	14	14	10–4	328	509	64.4	3,819	7.5	72	29	13	95.4	16	14	0.9	14	1	17	141	8	2
2017	PIT	15	15	12–3	360	561	64.2	4,251	7.6	97	28	14	93.4	28	47	1.7	14	0	21	139	3	1
2018	PIT	16	16	9–6–1	452	675	67.0	5,129	7.6	97	34	16	96.5	31	98	3.2	18	3	24	166	7	2
2019	PIT	2	2	0–2	35	62	56.5	351	5.7	45	0	1	66.0	1	7	7.0	7	0	2	7	1	0
2020	PIT	15	15	12–3	399	608	65.6	3,803	6.3	84	33	10	94.1	25	11	0.4	11	0	13	118	5	1
2021	PIT	16	16	9–7	390	605	64.5	3,740	6.2	59	22	10	86.8	20	5	0.3	8	1	38	239	11	5
Career		249	247	165–81–1	5,440	8,443	64.4	64,088	7.6	97	418	211	93.5	515	1,373	2.7	31	20	554	3,677	115	51

Postseason Stats

Year	Team	Games			Passing									Rushing					Sacked		Fumbles
Year	Team	GP	GS	Record	Cmp	Att	Pct	Yds	Y/A	Lng	TD	Int	Rtg	Att	Yds	Avg	Lng	TD	Sck	YdsL	Fum	Lost
2004	PIT	2	2	1–1	31	54	57.4	407	7.5	34	3	5	61.3	9	75	8.3	20	0	2	11	1	0
2005	PIT	4	4	4–0	58	93	62.4	803	8.6	54	7	3	101.7	19	37	1.9	10	2	6	35	0	0
2007	PIT	1	1	0–1	29	42	69.0	337	8.0	37	2	3	79.2	4	13	3.3	6	0	6	40	1	1
2008	PIT	3	3	3–0	54	89	60.7	692	7.8	65	3	1	91.6	5	0	0.0	4	0	8	58	0	0
2010	PIT	3	3	2–1	54	91	59.3	622	6.8	58	4	4	76.4	21	63	3.0	18	1	9	48	3	1
2011	PIT	1	1	0–1	22	40	55.0	289	7.2	33	1	1	75.9	3	15	5.0	9	0	5	45	1	0
2014	PIT	1	1	0–1	31	45	68.9	334	7.4	44	1	2	79.3	2	16	8.0	16	0	5	37	0	0
2015	PIT	2	2	1–1	42	68	61.8	568	8.4	60	1	0	93.3	0	0	0.0	0	0	6	55	0	0
2016	PIT	3	3	2–1	64	96	66.7	735	7.7	62	3	4	82.6	8	11	1.4	8	0	2	15	0	0
2017	PIT	1	1	0–1	37	58	63.8	469	8.1	43	5	1	110.5	2	16	8.0	15	0	2	7	1	1
2020	PIT	1	1	0–1	47	68	69.1	501	7.4	33	4	4	85.5	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2021	PIT	1	1	0–1	29	44	65.9	215	4.9	22	2	0	92.5	2	−1	−0.5	0	0	2	14	1	0
Career		23	23	13–10	498	788	63.2	5,972	7.6	65	36	28	86.7	76	245	3.2	20	3	53	365	8	3

Amazing NFL Records

Ben Roethlisberger holds several impressive NFL records:

Most regular season wins by a rookie quarterback in a season: 13 (in 2004).
Longest winning streak to start an NFL quarterback's career: 15 games.
Youngest starting quarterback to win the Super Bowl (at 23 years old).
Most career games with over 500 passing yards: 4.
Most career games with a perfect passer rating: 4 (tied with Peyton Manning and Lamar Jackson).
Most completions in a playoff or regular season game: 47.

He also holds many Pittsburgh Steelers franchise records, including:

Most career passing yards: 64,088.
Most career passing touchdowns: 418.
Most passing yards in a single season: 5,129 (in 2018).
Most touchdown passes in a single season: 34 (in 2018).
Most passing yards in a game: 522 (in 2014).
Most touchdown passes in a game: 6 (twice).

Charitable Work

Roethlisberger has a foundation that helps police and fire departments across the United States. They focus on providing support for service dogs. The foundation also works to improve life for people in Findlay, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

He has donated money to help tsunami relief and to fund police dogs. In 2014, he and his wife gave $1 million to his college, Miami University, for a new indoor sports center.

Personal Life

Roethlisberger during the Steelers' visit to the White House in 2009.

Ben Roethlisberger was born in Lima, Ohio. His father, Ken, also played quarterback in college. Ben has a younger sister, Carlee, who played college basketball.

In 2011, he married Ashley Harlan. They have three children: Ben Jr., Baylee, and Bodie.

Roethlisberger is a Christian. He has spoken about his faith, saying he tries to be a better Christian than he is an athlete. He also supports "Swiss Roots," a campaign to help Americans with Swiss family history connect with their heritage. He even has his own line of barbecue sauce!

Images for kids

Roethlisberger before a game at Heinz Field
Roethlisberger signs autographs at Super Bowl XL media day
Roethlisberger drops back against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2006
Roethlisberger in a Steelers' throwback jersey during a franchise win
Roethlisberger in Nashville prior to a game in 2008
Roethlisberger during a 2008 game
Roethlisberger in Denver in January 2012
Roethlisberger in Denver for the season opener in September 2012
Roethlisberger before a game against the Tennessee Titans
Roethlisberger in Baltimore in 2015
Ben Roethlisberger with Antonio Brown in September 2016
Roethlisberger during a preseason game in 2018.

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