Le'Veon Bell has turned down a recent offer from the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is not new for a player to turn down a deal from his dream, but this is a moment when the play seems to have overridden all that everyone thought would happen. Bell is not pleased with the manner in which the Steelers are negotiating, but he should not pick this fight with the Steelers. He must pick this new fight with the NFL over salary structure.
The Steelers want him back
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been willing to deal with Le'Veon Bell because they know that they need him in the backfield.
They have made offers to him that have been rejected, and these offers are all based on his status as a running back. Anyone who remembers Marshall Faulk knows that he was a good receiver and a good running back. He caught just as many passes as he ran for yards, and he was considered the greatest dual threat of his time. Bell wants to be paid like Marshall Faulk, but the NFL salary structure does not allow him to be paid as such.
The pay scale is different
The pay scale for running backs is lower than it is for wind receivers, and that is a fact of the NFL. There is not a single person who has contested that when seeking a long term deal, and if they have, they have not made their fight so public.
Receivers are perceived to be the divas, and that is a problem that Bell will run into as he fights. I fully support his fight to earn as much money as possible, but I know that the NFL will not pay him the way that he wants.
He turned down a deal
The Steelers were under the impression that they had reached a deal with Bell.
They were happy with negotiations with his agent, and they were willing to move forward to the point that the local paper reported that they were ready to sign the deal. This was not the case, and they were left holding the bag when Bell turned the deal down himself. He went around his agent to say that he is not happy with the structure of the contract, and he is missing training camp at the moment.
The Steelers are right to believe that they had a deal, and they should consider carefully how they will proceed.
The league will not change
The NFL is now a passer's league. Talent on the level of Bell is simply not needed on most teams, and the Patriots are the best example of why a star running back is not needed. Bell cannot force a changed league to overpay him for a position that they know does not possess that much value. He will need to take what he can get because the Steelers are too solid to give in.
