For weeks, Le'Veon Bell has been assumed to come back and play football for the Steelers.
Time after time, he does not report and says something new on Twitter. His long contract holdout finally climaxed today, as he had to have signed by 4:00 PM, for the season to count for him. Now, he cannot play for the rest for the year and continues to devastate Steelers fans and his Fantasy Football owners who selected him second overall. Bell has been extremely controversial on Twitter, going from saying a player who sits out a year doesn’t love their sport, to sending upside down posts in his defense.
Bell started all this drama because he believed that he should be paid not only like a number one running back, but also as a number two receiver. He said in a rap song, that he wants “15 mil a year” with a long-term commitment. The Pittsburgh Steelers repeatedly offered Bell franchise tags or one-year contracts. He refused to accept these, and for good reason too. If Bell had accepted a franchise tag like he did last year, he could have suffered a serious injury. This would have led to him not being financially secure with any team, and him having to negotiate even though he was hurt.
If the Steelers had just given him the money he wanted, Bell would have had long-term security, and the Steelers would get their best(arguably) player back. James Conner has performed admirably in Bell’s absence, but he does not pack the same punch that Bell did.
While it may seem that Bell is being petty and that he should just take the 12 million dollars he is being offered, there is more to that. Recently, Seahawks star safety Earl Thomas III faced a similar situation to what Bell had. Instead of holding out like Bell, Thomas grudgingly accepted his deal and played. He broke his leg a few games into this season, and now, has no contract stability come free agency.
In the end, while Bell might seem like a fool more sitting out, his decision is right financially. If it was right morally, that is for everyone else to decide. The only downside is that in free agency, teams will have to sign a player who has not played NFL football for a year. Bell should be fine given his superstar play in the years past, and hopefully, some team gives him the big money he should get. However much he may have cost you your Fantasy Football championship, Bell did the right thing in holding out.
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