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Steel town deal Stewart signs $27 million deal with Pittsburgh
Posted: Thursday May 13, 1999 07:27 PM
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Kordell Stewart has had one very good season as an NFL starting quarterback and one not-so-good season. That didn't prevent the Pittsburgh Steelers from giving him one very good contract. Thursday, Stewart officially signed a $27 million contract that runs through 2003. He agreed to terms nearly two weeks ago, but the announcement was delayed so agent Leigh Steinberg could return from a European vacation. Stewart, 26, gets an $8.1 million signing bonus that is only about half the $15 million that two-year starter Jake Plummer got from Arizona. Because Stewart agreed to cut his salary this season from $2.05 million to $400,000, his signing bonus essentially is $6.45 million. He will make $2.5 million in 2000 before his salary escalates to $4.4 million in 2001, the Steelers' first season in their new stadium; $5.3 million in 2002 and $6.3 million in 2003. The signing bonus will count $1.62 million a year against the Steelers' salary cap. The contract is not guaranteed, which protects the Steelers in case Stewart has another season like last year, when he threw for only 11 touchdowns and ran for only two. In 1997, he passed for 21 touchdowns and ran for 11 more as the Steelers reached the AFC Championship Game. "[Last season] made me understand the responsibilities that I have to uphold," Stewart said. "It caused me to mature quickly as a young man as well as a player and understand that being a quarterback, things just aren't going to happen well all the time." Stewart's previous contract ran through the 2000 season. "We're really happy to have Kordell with us, and he's going to be with us for some time," team president Dan Rooney said. "As we have said, he's our guy. Everyone in the organization has been very, very much for him." Coach Bill Cowher said the Steelers' collapse from an AFC finalist in 1997 to a 7-9 record in 1998 can't be blamed just on Stewart. "The first year, he took us within a drive of the Super Bowl. The second year, our football team did not meet the expectations or the standards that we've all come to accept," Cowher said. "I think when you look around the league, there's no question that stability at that position is so critical to have. ... Players have come and gone, but we have a young man who wants to be here and is driven by all the right things." Stewart said, "There were some good things that happened and some not so good things that happened. And the only thing I can say is that, like anything else in life, you learn from your experiences. And that was just an experience for me." Stewart has spent most of the offseason in Pittsburgh working out and getting to know new offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, a former San Diego head coach. Last year, Stewart was criticized by backup quarterback Mike Tomczak for not working hard enough during the offseason. "Sometimes, you're going to have some adverse situations," Stewart said. "It just matters how you come out of that and how you handle it. Last year was one that not too many people around here were excited about. But it was one that I can appreciate based on the season I had the year before." Stewart should get a boost from the addition of first-round draft pick Troy Edwards, a playmaking wide receiver from Louisiana Tech who caught 140 passes for 1,996 yards and 27 touchdowns last fall. "I can only get better," said Stewart, who spent his first two seasons with the Steelers as a receiver and part-time quarterback. "I have all the confidence in the world in myself."
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