Less than 18 hours remain until the 2018 franchise tag extension deadline, and the impasse between the Steelers and Le’Veon Bell persists after nearly two full offseasons’ worth of negotiations.
The Steelers and Bell resumed talks again this week, and the team is committed to trying to hammer out a deal until the 3pm Monday deadline. However, the two-time All-Pro running back turned down the Steelers’ latest offer, one worth north of $13.3MM per year, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports (video link).
Pittsburgh’s 2017 offer was worth $13.3MM AAV, and the proposal reportedly contained $30MM in its first two years. However, Bell — attached to a $12.12MM tag at that point — turned that down.
When the Steelers approached him earlier this year, per Fowler, the running back referenced his 406-touch workload last season as evidence he’s worth more. The talks between the parties cooled off until they picked up again months later, and it’s safe to assume Bell’s adjusted price caused the hiatus.
Bell’s $14.54MM 2018 tag figure continues to be his per-year floor, per Fowler. The Steelers and Bell have made progress, but ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reported earlier Sunday night that the odds are against an agreement being hammered out.
No other running back makes more on a long-term deal than Devonta Freeman‘s $8.25MM, and his 2017 extension only bumped the current running back ceiling up by less than $250K per year. LeSean McCoy‘s 2015 Bills deal represented the standard before that. No other current running back earns more than $8MM annually, but Bell would nearly double that this season by playing on the tag again.
A RB is not worth $13M. How much better is Bell than a McCoy? Not $6M better. Too much of a salary handicap for the team.
MCCoy as it is , he is worth $0 and signing another RB will take him to the negative numbers
Really hoping that the Steelers don’t give in on this one, no matter what.
Tag him and let him try out free agency next year. Let’s see him try to do better than $9MM/year let alone $12MM.
He will easily do better than 9m that’s a joke however I don’t see him beating 13m since the browns have 3 running backs now. Possibly the 49ers offer it
It’s funny how the commentors always seem to side with the billionaires instead of the dude who actually plays lol
Because they dont want their TEAM strapped for cash against the cap. Commentors prefer team success more than individual raises.
I understand why they do it, but I can still find humor in middle class people rooting for billionaires who sit and increase their wealth, instead of the players who make the game entertaining. I’m a life long Steelers fan from central PA by the way
They just don’t like Bell b/c he wants what he think he’s worth. That’s his right to do so. Take Bell out of the lineup and see how much tougher it gets on Brown and the rest of that offense.
Or, again, they just don’t want their team cap strapped. If we all refused to work for less than what we think we’re worth, most of us would be out of a job.
Yeah so root against the guy trying to make a stand. Makes sense…
As long as there’s a salary cap it will be a factor. His position doesn’t warrant the hinderance his salary demand would issue. A player that’s almost as good as him is half the price. He’s not worth an “almost as good as him” player plus a good guard, TE, LB, DT, etc that you could get with the leftovers.
I say this and I’m in no way shape or form a Steelers fan.
The owners aren’t negotiating… I think it’s funny how some commenters bring up the owners when the owners have nothing to do with the situation. Lol.
The owners are the ones paying him. If you know how the Steelers organization works, then you know that the Rooneys definitely have a say in what happens with their best player
Funny how a lot of folks are saying pay him. My questions is how many Super Bowls have they won with him? Exactly
You think the Steelers are going to find a better replacement than Bell to get them to the super bowl? I say pay him because he’s the best RB in the league.
Divas dont win super bowls. Plain and simple. Me Me Me guys take a toll on a locker room. Steelers should tag him and let him walk after the year
Normally agree, but occasionally they do. See the Cowboys of 90’s.