RB Le'Veon Bell, FA (2 Viewers)

[Godsbrother]

Hey you can't stop yelling bro.

The players were bullied into this deal. 

The funny thing is the Steelers players were the only team to vote against it.

 

[irish eyes]

Hey you can't stop yelling bro.

The players were bullied into this deal. 

They didnt have to agree to it, plain & simple.

 

[Snorkelson]

So you dont think they'd talk to his agent after a trade was worked out, so that he would sign the tender, be traded, then sign a long term deal? 

Kind of hard to negotiate. What if he doesn’t want to play for that team?What team has the $$ to throw a huge contract at him? I understand trying to get something before you can’t get anything but what will you be offered? No leverage. I also understand paying one of your franchise players a little more than you want, but maybe they feel he’s replaceable. 

Maybe bell is simply thinking forward and knows the cap will get a huge bump when they renegotiate the broadcast rights and gambling revenue and wants to get paid.

 

[Milkman]

They didnt have to agree to it, plain & simple.

David Johnson is making less than 2 million dollars this season. 

 

[Interseptopus]

Kind of hard to negotiate. What if he doesn’t want to play for that team?What team has the $$ to throw a huge contract at him? I understand trying to get something before you can’t get anything but what will you be offered? No leverage. I also understand paying one of your franchise players a little more than you want, but maybe they feel he’s replaceable. 

Maybe bell is simply thinking forward and knows the cap will get a huge bump when they renegotiate the broadcast rights and gambling revenue and wants to get paid.

I know Mack wasnt franchised but the whole allow him to negotiate a deal and then trade him worked out fine for the Raiders 

 

[Interseptopus]

David Johnson is making less than 2 million dollars this season. 

and hes perfectly fine making that

 

[Godsbrother]

David Johnson is making less than 2 million dollars this season. 

He is still on his rookie deal right?

 

[Bronco Billy]

Hey you can't stop yelling bro.

The players were bullied into this deal. 

I sure hope I never work for a company that bullies its employees into taking only a 44% increase in salary over the last 5 years.  It’s almost slavery, I tell you!

 

[Wrigley]

Wow this is a giant circle jerk 

 

[ghostguy123]

Can’t trade him unless he signs his tender.

That and nobody will trade for him because they cant negotiate a new deal.

Nobody will want to trade for a guy who might sit out the playoffs without a new deal.

It would HAVE to be a release

 

[Angry Beavers]

I think he watched Mack dig his feet in and got exactly what he wanted and has now decided to play hardball. 

He has no leverage to play hardball.. play on the tag or sit.. thems the only choices for him and the team.

 

[habsfan]

Does anyone else think he is really salting the earth here in terms of his next deal? I know many think his departure from Pitt (however ugly) won't matter but I have my doubts. I think this is costing him more than $900K a week.

 

[Smack Tripper]

And you think this stunt is increasing his leverage?

Less games means less times to get hurt, yes I do.

 

[Angry Beavers]

So you dont think they'd talk to his agent after a trade was worked out, so that he would sign the tender, be traded, then sign a long term deal? 

He cant sign a long term deal until adter this season... with anyone, traded or not, those are the rules of the tag.

 

[Steeler]

I'd treat the 6 million as a sunk cost. 

Now it looks like his plan is to sit out and only play 6 games.  If I were the Steelers I would consider allowing him to sign the tender, ask for roster exemption so they dont have to pay him for 2 games, and put him on administrative leave or whatever TB did with Keyshawn all those years ago.  Whatever happens, I don't want them to release him or withdraw the tender... bad precedent would be set by that move.

 

[matttyl]

Not saying they want to, but could Pitt transition tag him next year or not?

 

[Steeler]

That is fine except the time to do that was before July 16.   At this point there can be no negotiation even if the Steelers wanted to give him Mack money.  Bell will either play for $14.5 million or he won't.  Bell is the only one with any control now.

Adding to tbis... even if he is traded the new team can't renegotiate this year.

 

[Godsbrother]

Not saying they want to, but could Pitt transition tag him next year or not?

Pretty sure they can franchise him again next season.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Who is driving this decision - Bell or his agent?  One of these guys is an idiot.

 

[matttyl]

Pretty sure they can franchise him again next season.

Which is absolute huge money.  There was talk the Redskins could do that to Cousins, but they didn't.  I'm asking about the transition tag - and if they used it, what would it be (roughly).

 

[irish eyes]

David Johnson is making less than 2 million dollars this season. 

And.....

 

[Godsbrother]

Now it looks like his plan is to sit out and only play 6 games.  If I were the Steelers I would consider allowing him to sign the tender, ask for roster exemption so they dont have to pay him for 2 games, and put him on administrative leave or whatever TB did with Keyshawn all those years ago.  Whatever happens, I don't want them to release him or withdraw the tender... bad precedent would be set by that move.

I read the Steelers have already asked for a roster exemption when Bell eventually reports however they have to pay him a minimum of 6 games I think.

 

[TheWinz]

If this thread goes on for 10 weeks, I'll slit my throat!

 

[Godsbrother]

Which is absolute huge money.  There was talk the Redskins could do that to Cousins, but they didn't.  I'm asking about the transition tag - and if they used it, what would it be (roughly).

I thought in Bell's case it would be in the neighborhood of $17 million though it may be more now with Gurley's contract.

I am not sure about the transition tag 

 

[Godsbrother]

If this thread goes on for 10 weeks, I'll slit my throat!

twice!

 

[simey]

Now it looks like his plan is to sit out and only play 6 games.  If I were the Steelers I would consider allowing him to sign the tender, ask for roster exemption so they dont have to pay him for 2 games, and put him on administrative leave or whatever TB did with Keyshawn all those years ago.  Whatever happens, I don't want them to release him or withdraw the tender... bad precedent would be set by that move.

TB inactivated Keyshawn for the rest of the season (which was the final six games). He couldn't come to the facility, etc. They had to pay him for those 6 games, but they didn't mind eating that money. I don't know if rules have changed now.

 

[Steeler]

I read the Steelers have already asked for a roster exemption when Bell eventually reports however they have to pay him a minimum of 6 games I think.

I thought the exemption meant they had a choice to pay him or not but he would still accrue those weeks.  Either way, pay him 4 or 6 games, eat the money, and don't let him play this year.

 

[Bronco Billy]

Less games means less times to get hurt, yes I do.

So being willing to take a loss in pay to damage the team, being very difficult to keep satisfied, wanting compensation well above the market, and multiple suspensions are highlights on his resume for negotiating with his next team?

 

[brewer]

Why is seemingly everyone assuming Conner is going to get 100% of the Bell load?

Samuels looked much better to me in the pass game and at least as good running the ball.

Because the Steelers generally don't rely upon rookies, especially ones who aren't very good at pass protection.

 

[Bayhawks]

Pretty sure they can franchise him again next season.

They can, but a 3rd franchise tag requires the team to pay the player the QB tag, or 144% of the player's previous salary, whichever is higher.  The QB tag in 2018 was $23.189M, and will likely be higher in 2019 (Garrapolo, Rodgers contracts).  The Steelers won't offer Bell a contract worth that much, IMO.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

I thought in Bell's case it would be in the neighborhood of $17 million though it may be more now with Gurley's contract.

I am not sure about the transition tag 

I think it would be over $20mm. I believe the third year of the franchise tag is based on the top 5 salaries in the league, regardless of position. 

 

[Bayhawks]

I thought in Bell's case it would be in the neighborhood of $17 million though it may be more now with Gurley's contract.

I am not sure about the transition tag 

See my previous post.  They'd have to pay him the QB tag price for a 3rd franchise tag.

 

[Godsbrother]

See my previous post.  They'd have to pay him the QB tag price for a 3rd franchise tag.

Gotcha.   

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Hmm, I didn't realize the only the owners signed off on the agreement. THE PLAYERS AGREED TO IT!!!!

You think the players have even close to the same negotiating power as billionaire owners? I'm not necessarily blaming the owners, they take on the financial risk and put the system in place for everyone else to earn a more than decent living - but let's not pretend everyone is on equal footing or that the "franchise tag" was for the benefit of the player.

 

[Godsbrother]

Because the Steelers generally don't rely upon rookies, especially ones who aren't very good at pass protection.

Pass protection is huge which is one reason why Conner didn't see as much action last season.  All reports are is that Conner has gotten much better.  Samuels still has a way to go though which means Ridley will likely get some snaps too.   

 

[Milkman]

I sure hope I never work for a company that bullies its employees into taking only a 44% increase in salary over the last 5 years.  It’s almost slavery, I tell you!

Lol love how you use % numbers to mask how bad they are getting screwed. David Johnson is making less than 2 million dollars this year. It's bad business too. The fans miss out on seeing some of the best players at their best. 

 

[Bayhawks]

I thought in Bell's case it would be in the neighborhood of $17 million though it may be more now with Gurley's contract.

I am not sure about the transition tag 

IIRC, if the Steelers use the transition tag on Bell & he signs the tender, they'd have to pay him at least 120% of his 2018 salary ($17.4M).  He'd also be able to negotiate with other teams (before he signed the tender), and they'd get the chance to match any deal he accepts.  If they don't match, though, Pitt gets no compensation picks.  I don't know how likely it would be for Pitt to use the transition.  Bell would probably get an offer that Pitt wouldn't match & they'd lost him, lose the use of the transition AND franchise tag (can only use one), and get nothing in return.  If he didn't get an offer, they'd have to pay him more than they were willing to pay this year.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

And you think this stunt is increasing his leverage?

At this point he has zero leverage - as I said I think this stance is financially foolish (throwing away $9MM if he sits until Week 10) but if he's holding out now he's doing it to preserve his health (a/k/a future earning potential) not for leverage on this year's contract.

 

[matttyl]

IIRC, if the Steelers use the transition tag on Bell & he signs the tender, they'd have to pay him at least 120% of his 2018 salary ($17.4M).  He'd also be able to negotiate with other teams (before he signed the tender), and they'd get the chance to match any deal he accepts.  If they don't match, though, Pitt gets no compensation picks.  I don't know how likely it would be for Pitt to use the transition.  Bell would probably get an offer that Pitt wouldn't match & they'd lost him, lose the use of the transition AND franchise tag (can only use one), and get nothing in return.  If he didn't get an offer, they'd have to pay him more than they were willing to pay this year.

But not have to do so on a long term deal.  I'm not saying they would, just seeing if they could and what it would mean.  He'd be the Cousins of the RB world, which is a very different world. 

 

[Bronco Billy]

Lol love how you use % numbers to mask how bad they are getting screwed. David Johnson is making less than 2 million dollars this year. It's bad business too. The fans miss out on seeing some of the best players at their best. 

Didn’t the union agree to rookie scales because rookie contracts were so out of control for unproven talent?  It seems to me that the NFLPA was an advocate for that.  How does that affect the guys in rookie contracts being on the field?

 

[Bracie Smathers]

Looks like the 'best-case' scenario for Bell fans who want to see him play this year is if he decides to sign late on Saturday.  That means he gets his full paycheck for this week and doesn't have to suit up for Sunday, basically he gets a one-week free paycheck but I doubt that happens.

More than likely he's sitting out the first ten games and only playing the final six games so the next-best case scenario is he gets traded.

Noticed Kyle Shanahan said the loss of his starting RB changes everything.

 Shanahan: Loss of RB McKinnon changes things ‘drastically’ for 49ers’ offens

... head coach Kyle Shanahan began formulating it in March after the signing of Jerick McKinnon gave him the dual-threat running back he coveted.

On Saturday, however, McKinnon was lost for the season with a torn ACL he sustained in practice. On Wednesday, Shanahan, speaking for the first time since McKinnon’s injury was confirmed, acknowledged it was a significant blow.

“Since the day we signed him, we’ve been game planning for Minnesota,” Shanahan said. “So I’m not going to lie — it changes things pretty drastically. That was (our) first target in free agency, so once you do it, you have a plan on how to use him, especially going into Week 1.”

Without McKinnon, who signed a four-year, $30 million contract, the 49ers will turn to Matt Breida, a 2017 undrafted free agent, and Alfred Morris, 29, who was signed Aug. 14.

Hmnn, he loses a duel-threat RB, the type he 'covets' and has to go to the trash heap and is starting a guy who doesn't have the skills he covets and he's coming off an injury.

The Steelers could ship Bell far away and out of the conference and get back more than compensatory picks.

Whichever team who would trade for Bell would do so knowing he can't sign an extension until after the season.

The Niners made the same sort of trade for Jimmy Garappolo last year and that has worked out 'pretty-good' for them.

Seems like a logical scenario.

 

[Godsbrother]

Looks like the 'best-case' scenario for Bell fans who want to see him play this year is if he decides to sign late on Saturday.  That means he gets his full paycheck for this week and doesn't have to suit up for Sunday, basically he gets a one-week free paycheck but I doubt that happens.

More than likely he's sitting out the first ten games and only playing the final six games so the next-best case scenario is he gets traded.

Noticed Kyle Shanahan said the loss of his starting RB changes everything.

 Shanahan: Loss of RB McKinnon changes things ‘drastically’ for 49ers’ offens

Hmnn, he loses a duel-threat RB, the type he 'covets' and has to go to the trash heap and is starting a guy who doesn't have the skills he covets and he's coming off an injury.

The Steelers could ship Bell far away and out of the conference and get back more than compensatory picks.

Whichever team who would trade for Bell would do so knowing he can't sign an extension until after the season.

The Niners made the same sort of trade for Jimmy Garappolo last year and that has worked out 'pretty-good' for them.

Seems like a logical scenario.

It would be if Bell signs his franchise tender.  But then the 49ers would be facing the same situation with Bell as the Steelers.  

 

[Bronco Billy]

At this point he has zero leverage - as I said I think this stance is financially foolish (throwing away $9MM if he sits until Week 10) but if he's holding out now he's doing it to preserve his health (a/k/a future earning potential) not for leverage on this year's contract.

And you don’t think this behavior affects his future earning potential - not to mention the loss of current income that he will never recover?  He only has so many years to play and he’s currently pissing away one if them while he’s simultaneously poisoning his own brand.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

It would be if Bell signs his franchise tender.  But then the 49ers would be facing the same situation with Bell as the Steelers.  

Just like they did with Garrappolo where they traded a 2nd pick for a guy who wasn't under a long term contract and he played for them and significantly increased his value before signing an extension.

Bell would not be able to increase his value like Jimmy-G did but it makes sense that a team who had made the same sort of deal and who lost their starting duel-threat RB would be interested and have experience with this sort of situation would be checking the numbers to see if they could fit LeVeon under their cap.

I don't know if those numbers fit but he fits exactly what Shanny wants/needs from his RB position and he'd provide more than what he had in McKinnon.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

And you don’t think this behavior affects his future earning potential - not to mention the loss of current income that he will never recover?  He only has so many years to play and he’s currently pissing away one if them while he’s simultaneously poisoning his own brand.

As to the first part - I'm not sure that it will (it only takes one team). As to the second - I've already stated my thoughts on that and I am in agreement with you.

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Just like they did with Garrappolo where they traded a 2nd pick for a guy who wasn't under a long term contract and he played for them and significantly increased his value before signing an extension.

Bell would not be able to increase his value like Jimmy-G did but it makes sense that a team who had made the same sort of deal and who lost their starting duel-threat RB would be interested and have experience with this sort of situation would be checking the numbers to see if they could fit LeVeon under their cap.

I don't know if those numbers fit but he fits exactly what Shanny wants/needs from his RB position and he'd provide more than what he had in McKinnon.

How much $ do you expect SF to commit to the RB position?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

How much $ do you expect SF to commit to the RB position?

I think they can get out of McKinnon's contract next year with a minimal cap hit and as for this year, I believe they are significantly under the cap anyway.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

How much $ do you expect SF to commit to the RB position?

How much do they value what may be the best duel-threat RB in NFL history, the exact type of RB that their offensively minded HC covets at the exact moment in time he is in dire need of a  duel-threat RB?

Basically it makes sense from a football perspective and I said I don't know if the numbers fit but it does make a ton of sense for all three parties, Niners, Steelers, and Bell from all points if the numbers fit.

 

[Angry Beavers]

How much do they value what may be the best duel-threat RB in NFL history, the exact type of RB that their offensively minded HC covets at the exact moment in time he is in dire need of a  duel-threat RB?

Basically it makes sense from a football perspective and I said I don't know if the numbers fit but it does make a ton of sense for all three parties, Niners, Steelers, and Bell from all points if the numbers fit.

Thats all great but Bell would still need to be willing to play this season, on the tag, without a long term deal in place.

 

[Truebluey]

And you don’t think this behavior affects his future earning potential - not to mention the loss of current income that he will never recover?  He only has so many years to play and he’s currently pissing away one if them while he’s simultaneously poisoning his own brand.

I don't follow. It seems that he and his team don't trust Steelers management right now. How is trying to protect his future "poisoning his brand"? Do you mean with the Steelers? They already have a bad relationship. With other owners? They are just looking for an opening and a way to profit from this. With the general public? I don't think the average working guy has much sympathy with billionaire NFL owners.

The lesson is - momma, don't let your little boy become a RB in the NFL. Very little financial security and compensation to be found there.