PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger isn’t buying the Logan Paul hype. The Steelers icon just went all-in on former teammate Antonio Brown to wreck the YouTuber-turned-WWE star in a boxing ring. Roethlisberger is ignoring Paul’s 30-pound weight advantage, betting instead on the receiver’s “supernatural” hand speed to end the fight early.
The Two Million Dollar Man
The combat sports world caught fire earlier this month when Paul, now 30, threw down a $1 million open challenge to any NFL athlete brave enough to glove up. While current players like Dion Dawkins showed interest, the retired legends are talking the loudest. Speaking on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger argued that $1 million isn’t enough to tempt a talent like Brown. He wants the pot doubled.
“What they should do is do two million and put AB in there against him,” Roethlisberger said. He brushed off the physical gap between the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Paul and the 5-foot-10, 180-pound Brown. The former quarterback pointed to specific practice sessions in Pittsburgh where Brown’s twitchiness looked like something out of a video game. He recalled a “scrappiness” that doesn’t show up on a stat sheet but wins real fights.
The timing feels like a fever dream for Steelers fans. Seeing Big Ben defend his most polarizing target brings back memories of the 2015 “Killer B’s” peak. Meanwhile, Brown has spent the last 48 hours on social media firing off clips of his footwork, clearly relishing the endorsement from his old QB.
“I would take AB over Logan Paul. I saw AB hit someone twice in the blink of an eye. Like, ‘Wait, what just happened?’ He hit him twice, I think.”
— Ben Roethlisberger, Former Steelers Quarterback
WWE Roadblocks: The 2026 Outlook
Fans shouldn’t start booking their flights to Las Vegas quite yet. Internal buzz from WWE suggests the company “pulled the plug” on Paul’s boxing side-quests for the 2026 season. Paul recently signed a long-term, full-time deal with the wrestling giant, joining the dominant “Vision” stable under Paul Heyman. Reports indicate executives called Paul on March 9 to remind him that his primary job involves the squared circle, not the boxing ring.
Paul hasn’t fought since his 2023 victory over Dillon Danis. If he manages to squeeze a one-off bout against a name as explosive as Brown, it would easily be the biggest crossover draw of the decade. For Roethlisberger, the outcome is simple: elite NFL twitch beats celebrity reach every time the bell rings.
