The Pittsburgh Steelers organization is proud of the fact that they see themselves as a "family." It is not uncommon to hear former players and coaches talk about how being a Steeler feels like being "home," or somewhere you belong. Steelers fans are notoriously loyal too, once you capture the heart of the Steel City fans, you're pretty much in for life.
This connection begins with the Rooney Family, who have owned the franchise since its inception. There are many stories about a member of the Rooney's showing care and concern for a player. However, one former Steelers player was a little closer to Dan Rooney than anyone else. Now that Steeler, Ike Taylor, has shared a story of how Rooney stepped up for him during a contract dispute.
Taylor was on a recent episode of another former Steelers player's podcast. Arthur Moats, who played linebacker for Pittsburgh, now hosts a podcast called The Arthur Moats Experience. He recently had Taylor as a guest and asked him about his relationship with Rooney.
Taylor said it started as kind of a joking relationship, with Taylor making fun of Rooney's old-fashioned clothes or his old-school briefcase. He said he even bought him a more modern-style briefcase. Over time, they became friends, such good friends that when Taylor was attempting to negotiate a new contract, he went to Rooney for help.
"My contract was coming up and I just wanted like $500,000-$600,000 more. They didn't want to give me the $500,000 or $600,000. They said, because this was coming from somebody else, you know Papa Rooney was like, 'We giving Ike this, we're not giving him nothing else.' And I wind up walking up there. So I said, 'Papa, for real, you really can't give me the five or six more? Like this is what I do and I broke it down."
Taylor, who played cornerback, said he explained that he was the one who was always called upon to cover the best receivers. He added that that "best receiver" wasn't doing anything against him. He told Rooney, that they asked him to come and hit and tackle, no other corner was tackling like he was. Taylor added that he was durable, hardly ever missing any games.
"So what do you want me to do?" Taylor asked Rooney. "They said as soon as I left, he called Omar [Khan] like, 'Give the man $500,000 or $600,000.'"
While people often accuse the Rooney family of being cheap, Taylor definitely saw a different side to him, of course, cornerbacks were not making what they make today back then. Taylor's average annual salary then was $2.75 million, while now Jaire Alexander from the Green Bay Packers is making $21 million a year. There are several other corners making $20 million a year or close to it including Denzel Ward, Jalen Ramsey, and Marlon Humphrey.
Steelers' Ike Taylor Said The Bond Between Him And Rooney Was Real
Taylor told Moats that he feels like God has put a few angels on earth to help guide him and Rooney was one of those angels. He shared that he misses him greatly. Rooney passed away in 2017 and Taylor confessed he still calls his phone from time to time.
When Rooney passed, Taylor was asked to be a pallbearer at his funeral along with his grandchildren. The family said Rooney considered Taylor to be a member of their clan and they even jokingly called him "Ike Rooney." Taylor said he knew how strongly he felt about Rooney, but didn't quite realize that the owner felt the same way until then.
"I'm like dang, he really did feel a certain way about Ike Taylor. I get to the cathedral and see President Barack Obama and Jimmy Jones, Robert Craft, and in the third row, I see all the legends, like Mean Joe Green, and they sitting behind me. All these important people sitting behind me. That's when it really hit me, I was walking up with the family in the cathedral and I am seeing all these important people I admire, but all of them were behind me."
During his time with the Steelers, Taylor helped Pittsburgh win two Super Bowls. He spent 12 seasons in Pittsburgh and during that time, he racked up 636 total tackles, 14 interceptions, and two forced fumbles. Taylor admits he didn't have the "hands" to be a Pro Bowl corner, he could rarely reel in an interception, but that did not stop him from trying. He was a disruptive force for every offense he met, but does not always get the credit he deserves.
Art Rooney, known as "The Chief," founded the Steelers organization in 1933 and the team has stayed in the family ever since. Art's son Dan, or "Papa Rooney" as Taylor called him, took over ownership in 1988 and stayed as the owner until his death in 2017. Now Dan's son, Art Rooney II has primary control over the franchise. The longevity of one family retaining ownership of a team is not as common as it used to be. It gives the family a special and deeper connection to the city to which they belong.
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