OT: Le'Veon Bell

[ConnHuskBask]

I still think he’ll come back before then - he’s in an awkward spot where if he holds out too long he’ll be poison. Plus I’m sure his agent is bankrolling him and the monetary pressure will mount.

I hope you're right. It does seem like an insane amount of money to be foregoing weekly.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

He is a 26 year old HB who touches the ball 400 times. He can't risk playing without a long-term deal. This is his last shot at a big payday.

As for his teammates................wow. It is clear they know he won't be back after this season. No way do you undermine your teammate is a contract fight with management.

 

[Devland]

There are people that still watch the NFL???? Wow.

Most watched sports league in the USA and it's not even close. Funny thing was that people made a big deal about the NFL TV ratings being down last year, but their ratings were down less than the major networks prime time shows or the other three majors sports leagues. It's called cord cutting. In 2017 37 of the top 50 top watched programs were NFL games. So yeah people still watch.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Most watched sports league in the USA and it's not even close. Funny thing was that people made a big deal about the NFL TV ratings being down last year, but their ratings were down less than the major networks prime time shows or the other three majors sports leagues. It's called cord cutting. In 2017 37 of the top 50 top watched programs were NFL games. So yeah people still watch.

Don’t bother. Your post has more words than his brain sports IQ points.

Anyway, I don’t think he holds out much longer. Besides the money being left on the table and him becoming poisonous, what’s he gonna do, come in week 8 like nothing happened and be embraced by the team after all this*? I heard the analogy the other day, it’s like going on a hike down into the Grand Canyon and telling your party “oh guys go on without me, I’ll helicopter down when you’re half way to the bottom!”

*I think his teammates are more frustrated over the general lack of and failure of communication from Bell as to what’s going on. Seems like a lot of them were expecting him to be back by now, as if they were told as such, and now Bell isn’t delivering on something he said. I could be off on that.

 

[Waquoit]

1 But when your teammates start speaking out against you, I start to wonder whether you've handled everything in an ideal way.

In today's NFL, when your teammates start speaking out against you in a contract dispute it means you have crappy teammates.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I'm a Steeler fan and am bordering on can't stand the guy. When opening this thread I was hoping it was because he was traded. Amazing talent, but this is 2 years in a row he has been a training camp nightmare. @tiger8mush is spot on. Talk to the NFLPA if you don't like it. But honor your contract.

He didn’t negotiate that contract.

If I’m the players I’m backing Bell and when the CBA expires in 2020 I’m striking until the players have a CBA more in line with much less dangerous sports where you have a longer career. The owners have been stealing from the players for decades.

 

[Exit 4]

He didn’t negotiate that contract.

If I’m the players I’m backing Bell and when the CBA expires in 2020 I’m striking until the players have a CBA more in line with much less dangerous sports where you have a longer career. The owners have been stealing from the players for decades.

Get ready for a full season lock out. This is the one sport where the quality of the players doesn't affect the excitement on the field. Baseball, basketball and hockey suck with replacement players, football plays well even if its high school kids out there. The players are doing fine, if not they are welcome to join us in the real world.

 

[Scoe]

Get ready for a full season lock out. This is the one sport where the quality of the players doesn't affect the excitement on the field. Baseball, basketball and hockey suck with replacement players, football plays well even if its high school kids out there. The players are doing fine, if not they are welcome to join us in the real world.

The XFL will be here by then, NFL owners are gonna have to give in. If XFL ratings are doing well the owners will be in a hurry to get a deal done.

 

[tiger8mush]

He didn’t negotiate that contract.

If I’m the players I’m backing Bell and when the CBA expires in 2020 I’m striking until the players have a CBA more in line with much less dangerous sports where you have a longer career. The owners have been stealing from the players for decades.

I agree the players can/should strike if they aren't happy with the CBA in 2020, but they agreed to play under the current CBA until then. The owner is paying him top-5 RB money which is $14.5M guaranteed for this season. He had a chance to work out a long term deal in the offseason. The owner was within his right according to the existing CBA to franchise tag him. And Bell is within his right to sit out and not get paid. It could work out for him long term, I guess we'll see.

So over 17 weeks, its about $850k he's giving up for each week he sits? Lets say he comes back week 11 or week 12 so that he can be a FA at the end of the season and not get FT'd again, and the Steelers makes the playoffs. Will he play? How will his playoff paycheck be calculated if he does play?

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

There are people that still watch the NFL???? Wow.

 

[blue93]

He didn’t negotiate that contract.

If I’m the players I’m backing Bell and when the CBA expires in 2020 I’m striking until the players have a CBA more in line with much less dangerous sports where you have a longer career. The owners have been stealing from the players for decades.

The issue is compounded by the fact that he really hasn't made that much money in the prime years of a running back's career, relatively speaking. Another full season of wear and tear (or worse, a major injury) and teams won't be willing to pay a top running back top dollar considering he'll probably drop off in two years - as most running backs do.

Then it'll be on to James Conner or someone else they can find in the draft and pay less than $1M/yr. Rinse. Repeat.

 

[uconnphil2016]

This could be solved if they just take away the ability to franchise tag. Then he could have signed a long term deal before the 2017 season where he’d cash out and it would actually make sense for teams to sign him

 

[Waquoit]

Get ready for a full season lock out. This is the one sport where the quality of the players doesn't affect the excitement on the field. Baseball, basketball and hockey suck with replacement players, football plays well even if its high school kids out there. The players are doing fine, if not they are welcome to join us in the real world.

That's why Arena football is thriving

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Get ready for a full season lock out. This is the one sport where the quality of the players doesn't affect the excitement on the field. Baseball, basketball and hockey suck with replacement players, football plays well even if its high school kids out there. The players are doing fine, if not they are welcome to join us in the real world.

This argument has always been awful.

 

[intlzncster]

Wouldn't want to be in a foxhole with the Steeler players.

To a degree. I'm OK will Bell's move, but while he's protecting himself, he's hurting his teammates on the field and potentially financially.

If a team does well, players make more in free agency (happens with the Pats all the time). Guy like Bell makes receivers and lineman look better, and get paid more. So when he doesn't play, he takes money out of their future pockets.

I don't really fault him for it though. Given NFL contract structure, it's every man for himself in the NFL, especially at running back.

 

[Exit 4]

This argument has always been awful.

Got any other big ideas why the NFL players haven't had more success? Its this argument + the fact the avg career is 3-4 years, so one year of lock out hurts too many.

 

[intlzncster]

Don't you see it from his perspective though? He just saw Todd Gurley get a guaranteed $45M, while the Steelers offer (which I got wrong above) was "only" $10M guaranteed.

While $15M seems astronomical for us, I try to think of these things on my terms. Would I work for less than I was worth, all while risking bodily injury? No. Especially given how the Steelers have run him into the ground the past few seasons.

Fantasy: Since at latest he'll be back Week 11, I'm gonna hang on to him and hope I'm good enough to sneak into the playoff hunt, and then get him back fresh Week 11,12,13 to end the regular season.

Gurley does have two years on him though. Which with Running backs, definitely matters. As importantly, he And Bell has shown a lack of being able to stay healthy. he's only played one full season in 6 years iirc. I think he has higher usage than Gurley too.

If I'm a GM, no way I'd pay him. I wouldn't of paid Gurley that either, but the former far less likely than the latter.

 

[intlzncster]

Agreed but I think Bell brings more value than most RB. He plays receiver as well as he runs the ball. He is highly versatile which makes him valuable to teams. The dude deserves his money.

Sort of. He's only one guy, who gets hurt a lot. Availability being the most important skill and all.

I'd rather get 4 quality backs for the same money, which is quite doable. The Pats do it all the time. You're covered for injury, and guys are fresher later in the year.

 

[intlzncster]

I'm a Steeler fan and am bordering on can't stand the guy. When opening this thread I was hoping it was because he was traded. Amazing talent, but this is 2 years in a row he has been a training camp nightmare. @tiger8mush is spot on. Talk to the NFLPA if you don't like it. But honor your contract.

Thing is, he hasn't actually signed a contract at this point. So nothing to honor. And the NFLPA set up these rules which he's abiding by, so I don't think that's a problem either.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Got any other big ideas why the NFL players haven't had more success? Its this argument + the fact the avg career is 3-4 years, so one year of lock out hurts too many.

I meant the hot take that if they aren’t happy they can get a real job like the rest of us. Ummmmm let me know when you discover that skill set that only a few other people in the world can do while people pay billions of dollars to watch you work.

 

[intlzncster]

Agreed, but I doubt he gets it. Approaching 30 and been a bell cow for several years. The number of RBs who have been top 5 for more than 5 years are few and far between

He's only 26. Given injuries he's only played 3.5 years worth of games in his career. But he does have a lot of snaps.

 

[LIuconn]

Bell should have fired his agent a while ago. The drug busts n whatnot didn't help, but that guy should have been a top earner right off his rookie deal

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Gurley does have two years on him though. Which with Running backs, definitely matters. As importantly, he And Bell has shown a lack of being able to stay healthy. he's only played one full season in 6 years iirc. I think he has higher usage than Gurley too.

If I'm a GM, no way I'd pay him. I wouldn't of paid Gurley that either, but the former far less likely than the latter.

I'm not one to pay or invest in RBs. I was livid when the Giants wasted #2 overall on Barkley. It's not that I don't think RBs can be special talents, but it's just not worth the cap space.

If I'm Bell, I'd probably report Saturday, miss a game, but collect the money and then make a cool $15M this season and then hope you don't get hurt.

I think it's a bit of a risk to come back Week 11, hope that the offense hasn't rallied around Conner, and then try and play lights out Week 11 - Playoff all while hoping to not get injured. Not to mention leaving $8M on the table.

 

[storrsroars]

In today's NFL, when your teammates start speaking out against you in a contract dispute it means you have crappy teammates.

Or you're realistically thinking this is your last year as an NFL player and you don't have your SB ring (or want one more) and you truly believe this is your best and last chance to win one.

And that's the case with Ramon Foster and probably others.

I hate that I even know this as I could care less about the NFL, but Le'Veon Bell news is all but inescapable here in Pgh.

 

[whaler11]

Get ready for a full season lock out. This is the one sport where the quality of the players doesn't affect the excitement on the field. Baseball, basketball and hockey suck with replacement players, football plays well even if its high school kids out there. The players are doing fine, if not they are welcome to join us in the real world.

Someone isn’t old enough to remember 1987.