While it may seem like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Le’Veon Bell have accepted that the star running back will be playing under the franchise tag once again in 2018, the pessimism surrounding the situation may not be totally warranted.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided some analysis on several of the narratives surrounding Bell’s contract negotiations, and he indicated that any chatter about Bell and the Steelers being nowhere close to a deal is off-base.
While they aren’t particularly close, they aren’t that far off, either. The Steelers have increased their offer from last year, which Bell said fell at an average of $13.3 million annually. But Bell asked for more before the March 6 deadline, forcing the Steelers to reassess.
The Steelers have to decide if they want to enter that $15 million stratosphere. But it’s not like the sides are operating with a $5 million gap. They are already fairly close to Bell’s sweet spot.
A recent report from NFL Network claimed Bell wants to be paid like Antonio Brown, who makes $17 million per year. That would be insane money for a running back — even one that makes as big of a contribution in the passing game as Bell. Bell seems to understand that, and Fowler noted that Bell told him he would not take less than $14.5 million annually in a long-term deal, which is the value of the franchise tag for 2018. That would seem to indicate that Bell knows $17 million per year isn’t going to happen.
The Steelers recently said they are putting off discussions with Bell until after the draft, and they could select a running back early as an insurance policy. While Bell has seemingly softened his stance on the extent to which he will hold out, he recently tweeted about being seen as a “villain” in Pittsburgh. The two sides may be closer in contract discussions than they were last year at this time, but it certainly seems like there are still some issues to work through.
