The Big Ben Jerky Empire Comes To An End

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been unusually busy for this time of the year, even with the draft approaching. They sent Santonio Holmes to the Jets for a fifth-round pick. The D.A. said no chargers would be brought against Ben Roethlisberger. Then Big Ben made a public statement (with a sweet new hair cut) on Monday. Things haven't slowed down today. A Boston lawyer says he looked into a Vegas incident involving Roethlisberger six months ago. But the big news of the day: Ben Roethlisberger no longer has his own beef jerky line.

Judy Battista of the New York Times breaks the news:

Pitt-based business that markets "Big Ben Beef Jerky" is terminating its five year relationship with him today. ... Owner of comp. that is dropping Ben: "I can't imagine anyone touching Ben Roethlisberger. Enough is enough." Also hopes 4 suspension.

Previously, PLB Sports worked with Doug Flutie on Flutie Flakes among other notable products. At least Big Ben still has Nike. Then again, they have a history of sticking with folks who have been through some things.

(H/T to Darren Rovell)

After the jump, a little something I'd suggest for Ben's next ad campaign:

The ad below was created with YouTube.com/searchstories. Enjoy that for a few hours. I smell a campaign with Google coming for Big Ben!

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.