“You’re Not Worth $500,000 to the Steelers”: Terry Bradshaw Recalls Being Disrespected by Rooney Family Despite Being Named Super Bowl MVP

Joe Montana won four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and was still shipped to the Kansas City Chiefs when the franchise decided its future belonged to Steve Young. Even the greatest quarterbacks learn that loyalty and legacy don’t always show up in the front office. Terry Bradshaw recently revealed that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ ownership taught him the same lesson when he came forward with a suggestion to the Rooney family.

During an appearance on The Rich Roll Podcast, the Steelers legend chimed in on various topics. But while answering a question about negotiating his contracts by himself, Terry Bradshaw touched upon an anecdote from his playing years with the Steelers.

“Yeah, I do [negotiate my contracts]. And I don’t have an agent,” Bradshaw said. “And that’s because I just felt like, well, once again, I trusted people and they’re going to give me what’s fair market. You know what my value is, and every contract I ever negotiated, seemed I was happy with, I wasn’t…

“I got nine dogs. You know what I tell my dogs? When they fuss and fight over a bone…I tell them, be nice. I tell my dogs, be nice…And I live by that. And be nice people, we do get pushed around and taken advantage of… When I found out, when I asked the Steelers, as the MVP in the league, and we’d won our last two Super Bowls, and I was MVP in both of those games. And I met with the Rooney family, and I told them I’d like to make $500,000. You know what they told me to my face? You’re not worth $500,000 to the Steelers.”

The incident dates back to the 1978-79 season, when Terry Bradshaw put together the finest regular season of his career (at that time). He led the NFL with 28 passing touchdowns while throwing for 2,915 yards and averaging 7.9 yards per attempt (which also led the entire league).

By the end of the regular season, Bradshaw and the Pittsburgh Steelers finished with a 14-2 record, which also favored him to win the NFL MVP award. Not just that, the legendary Steelers QB also went on to win the Super Bowl XIII that year.

Due to this, a seemingly confident Terry Bradshaw felt himself deserving of an upgrade in his existing contract with the Steelers, where he was reportedly estimated to be earning around $200,000.

He saw $500,000 a year as a befitting number for the extension. However, the Steelers ownership group, which is led by the family of Art Rooney, countered with a $300,000 offer, which Bradshaw immediately agreed to.

Terry Bradshaw first joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1970 and spent his entire NFL career representing them in 187 games (including the playoffs). Although in 1984 the legendary quarterback announced his retirement, he immediately pivoted to a broadcasting career in the same year.

As things stand, even though his playing career has been left behind long ago, Bradshaw stands as one of the prominent voices in NFL media, regularly appearing on FOX NFL Sunday as the co-host and analyst and earning around $5 million per season.

The post “You’re Not Worth $500,000 to the Steelers”: Terry Bradshaw Recalls Being Disrespected by Rooney Family Despite Being Named Super Bowl MVP appeared first on EssentiallySports.