Ben Roethlisberger Shreds NFL Over Brutal December Schedule: ‘It’s All About Money'

Ben Roethlisberger retired from the NFL in 2021. And after seeing his former team's schedule this December, he's probably really glad he did.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Day. And like the other three teams playing Wednesday, it will be their third game in just 11 days.

Ben Roethlisberger spent 18 seasons as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

(Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)

On the latest edition of his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the two-time Super Bowl champ ripped the NFL for putting these players through an impossibly grueling schedule.

"It's miserable," Roethlisberger said. "It's a shame that the league does this. It just shows that it's all about money and this is a way that they can, you know, make more money and figure this thing out because it's not fair for the players. 

"You wanna talk about injuries and making the game safer, changing the kickoff rule and preventing guys on hip-drop tackles, and concussions, and this that and the other, and you're going to make guys play the most violent game in the world, arguably, three games in 11 days. I mean, there's no time for your body to get healthy and rest."

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For what it's worth, the Chiefs aren't too thrilled about the schedule, either. Earlier this month, quarterback Patrick Mahomes explained that the lack of recovery time — especially this late in the season — would take a toll on the athletes.

"It is not a good feeling," Mahomes said. "I'm excited to play on Christmas to hopefully get back from what we did last year [when the Chiefs lost to the Las Vegas Raiders], but you never want to play this many games in this short of time. It's just not great for your body."

The Chiefs and Steelers will kick off the NFL's Christmas Day slate at 1 p.m. ET, streaming exclusively on Netflix. The Ravens and Texans will follow at 4:30 p.m. ET.

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And to Roethlisberger's point that "it's all about money," the league is getting $150 million from Netflix for the two games.