Rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger might not show up when the Steelers report to training camp today, but wide receiver Hines Ward will.

Negotiations between the Steelers and the agent for Roethlisberger, the team's first-round draft choice, continued yesterday without being resolved, and it appears he will not come to terms before reporting time tonight.

After debating the pros and cons of a holdout to protest his contract situation, Ward decided to report with the rest of his teammates tonight at St. Vincent College in Latrobe.

Negotiations on a requested contract extension have not taken place with Ward, and the Pro Bowl receiver considered not reporting tonight. He remains unhappy the Steelers have declined his request for a contract extension.

Ward has two years left on his contract, but, after making the Pro Bowl the past three years and voted the team's MVP the past two, he believes he deserves a raise. He spoke out in June after the Steelers extended quarterback Tommy Maddox's contract by one year through 2007.

Team president Art Rooney II said Maddox's case was an exception to the team's policy of not extending the contracts of players who are still under contract for multiple years.

"Even though he's unhappy because they made an exception to the rule and he felt that exception should be applied fairly" he will report on time, said Eugene Parker, Ward's agent. "He felt he should be there because of his love for the game, for the Steelers and for the fans who have embraced him. He felt this was the best thing to do."

Parker said if the Steelers are going to make exceptions to their policies, "those exceptions should apply fairly."

Ward, 28, will earn a $1,668,750 salary this season and again in 2005. His salary cap value of $2,173,150 ranked 29th among NFL receivers last season, even though he tied for second in the AFC with 95 receptions. Several NFL receivers have earned signing bonuses of more than $10 million the past two years.

Ward signed a contract extension after he caught 48 passes in the 2000 season. He followed with his three all-star seasons, setting the team record with 94 receptions in '01, broke that with 112 in '02 and had 95 last season.

Parker said despite Ward's unhappiness over his contract, "he will work the way everyone has expected of him."

Roethlisberger was the 11th overall draft pick and the third quarterback chosen in April. The contract agreement reached yesterday between the New York Giants and quarterback Eli Manning, the first choice in the draft, should have little impact on Roethlisberger. Manning will receive a reported $20 million signing bonus.

Roethlisberger's signing bonus has been a sticking point in negotiations between the Steelers and agent Leigh Steinberg. Defensive back Dunta Robinson, drafted by Houston with the 10th choice, received an $8 million bonus on a six-year contract. Thus, the Steelers do not want to pay more than that. Agents argue, however, that quarterbacks, particularly those drafted in the top of the first round, deserve more than the so-called slotting system calls for because they are premiums.

Roethlisberger is the only unsigned rookie on the team.