Big Ben: Today's Players Are 'Coddled'

Ben Roethlisberger won't be at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp next week for the first time in nearly two decades, but that doesn't mean he's riding off into the sunset.

Nope. Big Ben has plenty of opinions and no reason to hold back, so buckle up!

Speaking to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Roethlisberger admitted today's athlete ain't the one he grew up with back in the mid-2000s when he broke into the league.

You have to walk on eggshells nowadays, says Big Ben.

“I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that’s my biggest takeaway from when I started to the end," Roethlisberger told the Gazette's Ron Cook. "It turned from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard. It’s hard for these young guys, too. Social media. They’re treated so well in college. Now, this new NIL stuff, which is unbelievable.

"They’re treated so special. They’re coddled at a young age because college coaches need them to win, too. I know coach (Terry) Hoeppner never coddled me (at Miami of Ohio). Neither did (Bill) Cowher.”

Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers jogs to the locker room during halftime at Paul Brown Stadium (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

Gee, hard to believe Bill Cowher didn't coddle anyone! He seems so warm and cuddly.

Roethlisberger went on to say that his biggest regret over the 18-year run was the fact that the Steelers won just three playoff games after their Super Bowl run in 2011.

Overall, Big Ben won 165 games with the Steelers, with a staggering 41 fourth-quarter comebacks and a pair of Super Bowl titles.

“I feel like the game has changed," Big Ben added. "I feel like the people have changed in a sense. Maybe it’s because I got spoiled when I came in. The team was so important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this, that and the other."