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RB Le'Veon Bell, FA (4 Viewers)

ffweasel said:
No change. You aren’t missing a thing by not reading this thread. 
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Just trying to make sure I stay up-to-date.  I own Conner and not Bell, so obviously I want to stay in the know.  So much contract talk and speculation, but I only care if/when Bell reports.

 
TheWinz said:
Just trying to make sure I stay up-to-date.  I own Conner and not Bell, so obviously I want to stay in the know.  So much contract talk and speculation, but I only care if/when Bell reports.
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Same here plus Big Ben.  Not playing either this weekend.

 
If Bell reports on Saturday, is he allowed to play on Sunday?

I am trying to take this 1 week at a time.

 
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Stuart Ullman said:
If you love to play football. Play football.
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He has played football. He's taken a lot of wear and tear on his body. He is not under contract and is currently thinking about whether he wants to continue to take physical abuse and for what price. It's his career and he should be smart about how he approaches it. 

 
theplayer11 said:
Tomlin is a jerk and has no control of his team....Brown is all about himself and Bell is obviously all about himself as well. Feel so lucky to root for a team that cares about winning.
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How are Bell and Brown all about themselves? When playing, when have they done anything but given their all? When have they ever backed down from anything or anyone on the field? It's is a business and their career. They choices to sign or not sign a contract are about the most import decisions a worker can make in capitalism and we should respect that. Also, being among the best of their generation and being in a union, the contract decisions they make ripple across the league. They set standards and have a lot of power in steering the future compensation for players. Even if their motives are selfish, they carry bigger ramifications. 

 
TheWinz said:
Just trying to make sure I stay up-to-date.  I own Conner and not Bell, so obviously I want to stay in the know.  So much contract talk and speculation, but I only care if/when Bell reports.
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I own both. Bell was one of my two keepers and I drafted Conner in the 13th round. At this time I’m considering starting Conner over Barber and Jamaal Williams, but not with confidence. 

 
ghostguy123 said:
Honestly not sure what ANY of that has to do with the owners.
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It all ladders up to the agreement with the NFLPA, and the power balance between the players and the owners of the franchises.  NFL teams want to minimize risk/maximize their chances of winning-- players want to maximize their income.  The league benefits from being able to sign an RB for under market rate, run them into the ground knowing that they're toast in a few years at that pace anyway, and then go on their merry way.  

Bell's utilization is bonkers.  In fantasy, one of the main reasons I would have taken him #1 overall is that I believe they WILL run, or at least would have, run him into the ground this year knowing he's gone next.  If we accept that, then we accept that NFL franchises are totally fine running RBs into the ground, paying them "poorly" during that time, and that letting them go when their bodies breakdown.  

Bell is effectively, in my mind, saying #### that noise.  He implicitly makes a bet that that he's a super important part of the Pittsburgh offense-- that they are significantly harmed without him in the backfield.  If he's right, that's worth a lot of money and that's the leverage he has.  If he's right, and this plays out, you could see this as the start of a negotiation for ALL running backs in the NFL that basically says they do not like the model of being chewed up and spat out.  I personally think Bell is good enough that the math ends up neutral (give up ~8M now but make up for it in security/guaranteed funds later).  The upside is that he changes the market/way that RBs are treated for all.  The semi conspiracy theory downside is the NFL basically black balls him moving forward as a lesson to other uppity RBs to keep that from happening.  The most likely outcome, in my mind, is that he gets a large contract from another team and makes his 8M dollar bet fairly revenue neutral, while not really changing the overall landscape.  

 
ghostguy123 said:
Is anyone here actually supporting the owners?  Thinking Bell should report means you support the owners?

People want their team to win and watch their favorite players, so they want the player to play.  That's pretty much the entire motivation and passion generating all the responses here.  

It's an entirely different conversation when discussion "value" of players.  People are sometimes trying to have both conversations at the same time and it doesnt work out to well most of the time.  
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I agree it gets muddied and I was perhaps a bit too harsh with the implicit linking between wanting Bell to play and supporting the owners.  I also agree that most of the criticism is borne from fantasy or wanting your team to win and of course that these players ARE paid incredibly well.  However, I think if more thought was put into the situation and people tried a bit better to understand where Bell is coming from, that it's a very reasonable position-- that it does boil down to a power struggle between the players and the NFL, and in my opinion given that context, we should be more supportive.

 
platapie said:
I agree it gets muddied and I was perhaps a bit too harsh with the implicit linking between wanting Bell to play and supporting the owners.  I also agree that most of the criticism is borne from fantasy or wanting your team to win and of course that these players ARE paid incredibly well.  However, I think if more thought was put into the situation and people tried a bit better to understand where Bell is coming from, that it's a very reasonable position-- that it does boil down to a power struggle between the players and the NFL, and in my opinion given that context, we should be more supportive.
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He can sign right now and be guaranteed 14.5 million dollars.  For JUST THIS YEAR!!   He will then be free sign a long term deal for probably another 30+ million guaranteed less than a year from now barring catastrophic injury.  Even serious injury would set him up for probably another 15 million guaranteed.  

I have a hard time supporting bad decisions.  I simply think it would be a bad decision for him to wait 10 weeks to sign, then go play and still face all the risks he is trying to avoid.  There are hundreds of fluky things that can happen off the field over the next 10 weeks that could cost him the entire 14.5 million this year, not to mention if he got hurt weeks 11-17 it would completely ruin everything he is trying to do AND he would be out an extra 8-9 million from weeks 1-10.  

If the players want to rise up for the next CBA and drastically alter the current way franchise tags are done then fine.  Until then, a guy like Bell has to "settle" for a 1 year deal for 14.5 million.  If they were negotiating something then my stance would change a bit, but they are not.  

 
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Judge Smails said:
Actually, quite a few (the great majority) are supporting the owners in here. They are saying Bell should report, should tell the team his intentions, play for the tag, whatever.  Regardless of whether it's a deal that's close to market.  Gurley got $45M guaranteed. That's the new benchmark.  Bell was offered $10M guaranteed.  The super repressed RB market is changing.  Leveon is not 30.  He's 26 years old.  Gurley is 24.  Bell has had 8,000 combined yards the last 5 years even with the suspensions and injuries.  The Raiders didn't want to pay Khalil Mack so they traded him to someone who would.  The Steelers should do the same thing with Bell.  Superstars are not for the cheap.
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They can't.  

Matter of fact, if any of the 32 teams wanted to offer him a $100m guaranteed contract, they can't.

 
Steeler said:
What?  Do you have a link?  Everything I have heard/read says the 14.5M is the only option.
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I read the same in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette - the only requirement is he signs the franchise tag and gets paid at least the 14.5M on a one year contract.   Everything else can be negotiated with his agent.

 One example is the roster exemption.  Pittsburgh got a 2 week roster exemption for Bell last year so he could practice but the team did not have to cut anybody until they were sure he was ready to play.   It is the team's option to pay or not pay any player while they are on a roster exemption.  

If Bell reports on Saturday it is likely he would not play Sunday and the Steelers would leave him on the roster exemption. 

They then could choose not to pay him for week one but his agent will probably negotiate a clause in the contract making it a condition of Bell signing the tag that he gets paid whether he is on the 53 man roster or on the roster exemption.    FYI...the roster exemption is for a maximum of 2 weeks.

 
ghostguy123 said:
Lot of assumptions that he doesnt get hurt in the 6 games that he plays
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No, the "assumption" is that this is how he gets to FA with the lowest risk of getting hurt.

The same logic would apply to not snowboarding/motorcycling/pickup basketballing/etc.

He can't guarantee he doesn't get hurt (he might get struck by lightning).. the game is to minimize the likelihood.

 
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ghostguy123 said:
He can sign right now and be guaranteed 14.5 million dollars.  For JUST THIS YEAR!!   He will then be free sign a long term deal for probably another 30+ million guaranteed less than a year from now barring catastrophic injury.  Even serious injury would set him up for probably another 15 million guaranteed.  

I have a hard time supporting bad decisions.  I simply think it would be a bad decision for him to wait 10 weeks to sign, then go play and still face all the risks he is trying to avoid.  There are hundreds of fluky things that can happen off the field over the next 10 weeks that could cost him the entire 14.5 million this year, not to mention if he got hurt weeks 11-17 it would completely ruin everything he is trying to do AND he would be out an extra 8-9 million from weeks 1-10.  

If the players want to rise up for the next CBA and drastically alter the current way franchise tags are done then fine.  Until then, a guy like Bell has to "settle" for a 1 year deal for 14.5 million.  If they were negotiating something then my stance would change a bit, but they are not.  
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Your logic on this is so bad. 

You are literally trying to convince this thread you know what is better for Bell than his agent and Bell himself.  They have way more experience with these things than you. 

If he signs the Steelers are going to run him into the ground, it would be another 400 plus touches. Fantasy football players like ourselves talk about the risks of drafting players with 400plus touches the year before. 

If we waits until week 10 to sign he probably plays 5 games and possibly the playoffs and the risks aren't the same, the math alone says he cut the risk by more than half just in the amount of games he plays. So if he thinks he can get 30 million in guarantees next year by mitigating risks or 14.5 million next year and only 15 million if he gets hurt (your words) it is pretty easy choice to work less and get the same amount of money. 

You also want a bad deal because of life. The odds of him getting hurt playing football are much greater than something fluke happening while living. 

Bell doesn't have to settle for anything, he doesn't have to sign the contract. 

 
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ghostguy123 said:
I have a hard time supporting bad decisions.  I simply think it would be a bad decision for him to wait 10 weeks to sign, then go play and still face all the risks he is trying to avoid. 
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Ceteris paribis, 6 chances versus 16 chances.  You are trying very hard to make the math more complicated than it is. 

 
msudaisy26 said:
Your logic on this is so bad. 

You are literally trying to convince this thread you know what is better for Bell than his agent and Bell himself.  They have way more experience with these things than you. 

If he signs the Steelers are going to run him into the ground, it would be another 400 plus touches. Fantasy football players like ourselves talk about the risks of drafting players with 400plus touches the year before. 

If we waits until week 10 to sign he probably plays 5 games and possibly the playoffs and the risks aren't the same, the math alone says he cut the risk by more than half just in the amount of games he plays. So if he thinks he can get 30 million in guarantees next year by mitigating risks or 14.5 million next year and only 15 million if he gets hurt (your words) it is pretty easy choice to work less and get the same amount of money. 

You also want a bad deal because of life. The odds of him getting hurt playing football are much greater than something fluke happening while living. 

Bell doesn't have to settle for anything, he doesn't have to sign the contract. 
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Its what I would do.  Bell is free to do whatever he wants.  I have said as much a dozen times now.

You still wanna rip on me for suggesting the possibility of Bell skipping the playoffs?

 
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matuski said:
:lol:

I think I am getting trolled here.

Serious injury = smaller payday in FA.  Which is what he is after.  Which is why it makes sense to minimize risk.
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Lessening injury risk while guaranteeing yourself about 9 million less.  There is more than one way to look at it.

 
msudaisy26 said:
Why? Skipping the playoffs would be spiteful and hurt him in free agency. A contract dispute because he is under paid doesn't. 
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I don’t think he’d skip the playoffs. It’s a line that has never been crossed. That being said he’d only make ~$25k for each of those games.

 
Bojang0301 said:
I don’t think he’d skip the playoffs. It’s a line that has never been crossed. That being said he’d only make ~$25k for each of those games.
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I agree the money is nothing, but next year a team would use the you quit on them when they needed you most. He isn't quitting on anyone right now, he is refusing to work because they won't pay him what he is worth. 

 
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