Le’Veon Bell The Hold Out That Never Ended

Le’Veon Bell wanted a huge contract.  I get it.  Really I do.  The shelf life of an NFL running back is very  short.  The average career of and NFL running back is less than three years.   When a running back gets a chance at that second fat contract they really need to get as much as they can.   The difficult part to understand is that Le’Veon Bell gave up over $14 million this year.  That is a lot of money to give up.

Le’Veon Bell wanted to get a contract that was similar or maybe even for more than what Todd Gurley got.  4 years 60 million dollars with 45 million guaranteed.  With NFL contracts that is the important part.  Other than the rookie contracts none of the NFL contracts are guaranteed.  That part has to be negotiated when they are working out the details of a contract.  Wanting the high guarantee is understandable.    Giving up the money Bell would have gotten this year is a little perplexing.

This past Tuesday as the latest time that Le’Veon Bell could have reported to play this season.  He still would have received half of his contract for the year or a little over $7 million.  Still a nice payday.  It looks even better only playing half the season and saving all that wear and tear on his body.

Le’Veon Bell Time in Pittsburgh has come to an End

It is pretty clear that his days in Pittsburgh are over.  Unless the Steelers use the transition tag on him next year.  Bell will be a free agent next year.  The interesting thing will be to see what the market is for a running back that sat out a year.   In his favor Bell is only 26 years old.  He will tun 27 before the start of next season.  With the shelf life of most NFL running backs being 30 he would still have four years in his prime.   The question is how much will a team be willing to pay him.

Even if Le’Veon Bell gets the same contract that Gurley did.  He still lost over $14 million.  That is going to be money that is unrecoverable.   I guess he could make it up on the back end if he is able to play into his mid 30s.  By then his production will surly be on the decline and the amount that a team will be willing to pay him will drop significantly.

Will Bell be Able to Make up the Lost Money

A team is not going to make up that $14 million in his next contract.  Even if he gets the same deal that Gurley did.  He is not getting the $14 million tacked on to his new contract.   I am guessing that he will get a nice fat contract.  Not the ground breaking contract that he thinks he is going to get.  With the emergence of James Connor Bell has lost a lot of his leverage.   Not just with the Steelers but with every team in the NFL.

With Connor stepping in and having the same production as Bell.  The difference is in the number of receptions and yards.  Oh its not?   Actually the receiving stats are very similar to Bell.  So the difference has to be touchdowns.  Nope not there either.  Last year between rushing and receiving Bell had 11 touchdowns for the whole season.  This season Connor has 11 combined touchdowns with 7 games left to go in the season.

This would seem to indicate that it is not just the back that makes the position for the Steelers.  Connor is a good back there is no doubt about that.   But him being able to step in and produce the same numbers as Bell indicates that it is not Bell that is the difference maker here.

It will remain to be seen if Bell made the right decision here.   Even if he did make the wrong decision he is still going to walk away with a full bank account.