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The Steelers have signed Ben Roethlisberger to a new contract for 2021, it was announced Thursday.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Roethlisberger willingly reduced his pay to $14 million from $19 million in this final year of his contract and spread the cash payment through 2022. It lowered the cap hit by over $15 million, all so the team can make the right moves to be as competitive as possible this season.

The Steelers had made clear that Roethlisberger wouldn't be back if he didn't reduce his 2021 salary cap number from the $41.25 million it was scheduled to be, but it wasn't clear whether Roethlisberger would be taking a pay cut, or merely restructuring his contract to reduce his cap hit this year but getting more money that would increase his cap hit in future years.

Now it's done.

"We are excited we were able to come to an agreement with Ben Roethlisberger on a new contract for him to return to the Steelers in 2021," said general manager and vice president Kevin Colbert. "We know that Ben can still play at a high level and do special things for this team. Our goal remains the same - to put together a roster that will compete for another championship. We are happy that Ben will be one of our leaders to help us accomplish that goal."

Roethlisberger, who has played in a Steelers record 233 games and started a record 231, came back strong in 2020 after missing the majority of the 2019 season with an elbow injury.

"It is my greatest honor to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and give my all for this organization," said Roethlisberger, who will be entering his 18th season with the team. "I am grateful to be at this stage of my career and more than happy to adjust my contract in a way that best helps the team to address other players who are so vital to our success. I love this game and love to compete, and I believe in this team and my ability to deliver when called upon. It all starts with great preparation and I am ready to go."

He completed 399 of 608 passes in 2020, tied for the second-most pass attempts in his career, for 3,803 yards, 33 touchdowns, second-most in his career, 10 interceptions and a career-low 13 sacks (not counting 2019 when he played in only two games).

Still, 2020 was a tale of two seasons.

Big Ben completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 2,800 yards and a 25-6 TD-INT ratio in the Steelers' first 11 games. Pittsburgh went undefeated in that stretch, looking like a Super Bowl favorite with an offense powered by Roethlisberger, who was turning in a vintage performance with a new cast of pass-catchers.

But over the final five regular-season games he played, Roethlisberger threw nine touchdowns and had six turnovers as the Steelers went only 2-3.

Roethlisberger then threw four touchdowns and four interceptions in the wild-card playoff loss to the Browns.

That said, the Steelers don't have any high-end options at the position with Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins and pending free agent Joshua Dobbs as the remaining QBs on the roster.

Beyond that, the Steelers, were $19 million over the cap before Roethlisberger's new deal, have a slew of players heading into free agency. The list includes receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, running back James Conner, OLB Bud Dupree, CB Mike Hilton, OT Alejandro Villanueva, OT Zach Banner and G Matt Feiler are all free agents.

In addition, center Maurkice Pouncey and tight end Vance McDonald announced their retirements.

So having Roethlisberger return is clearly a positive.

For his career, Roethlisberger has completed 5,050 of 7,838 passes (64.4 percent) for 60,348 yards (seventh most in NFL history), 396 touchdowns and a 94.0 quarterback rating. In 14 of his 17 seasons he has thrown for at least 3,000 yards, including doing it 13 straight seasons from 2006-18, interrupted only by his injury in 2019 that forced him to miss the majority of the season. He also threw for at least 3,500 yards in six consecutive seasons, the longest streak in team history.

The Steelers records he holds are numerous and include the following career records: passing TDs (396), passing TDs of at least 60 yards (22), passing yards (60,348), passer rating (94.0), completions (5,050), pass attempts (7,838), completion percentage (64.4), yards per attempt (7.7), 300-yard passing games (66) and 3,000-yard passing seasons (14).