Ben Roethlisberger has Tom Brady's jersey hanging in his office

Charles Krupa | AP

Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger are two of the greatest to ever play the game, and they share an incredible respect for each other.

For the New England Patriots’ first matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this season, Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined with a knee injury. However, he did get the chance to talk to Tom Brady before the game and ask for a jersey from the Patriots QB.

Brady was able to fulfill that request. Big Ben mentioned on Wednesday in a conference call with Patriots reporters that the jersey did show up and is now hanging in his office.

“I hate that those things get taped and heard because it wasn’t meant for that,” Roethlisberger said, “I have it hanging in my office. I have a lot of respect for him; I think that’s very well known. I think he’s one of, if not the greatest, quarterbacks of all time. It’s been an honor to play against him, to call him a competitor, and so I put it up in my office with the likes of the Marinos and Elways and Kellys and things like that.”

The feeling is obviously mutual as Brady had plenty of nice words to say about Roethlisberger in his Wednesday news conference.

“Ben is an incredible player and he’s been that way since 2004, when he came into the league. I’ve always loved the way he plays. Very tough, hard-nosed. He’s great for the city of Pittsburgh, a very tough, hard-nosed city. I have a lot of friends from there. He’s just been a great player and I think the respect is very mutual. To play at this level for as long as he has, and his style of play, has been remarkable.”

Sunday night will be the ninth time that Brady and Roethlisberger have faced off, and what better stage to have that happen than the AFC Championship.

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