It should have never come to this.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and running back Le’Veon Bell did the whole contract faceoff last year. After holding out hope for a better deal the entire offseason, Bell finally conceded, reported for work Labor Day weekend and played out the season on the franchise tag.
Sure, he got off to a slower start, but he found his groove. He produced a second consecutive Pro Bowl season (third of his career), establishing himself as one of the most valuable players in the league. But the Steelers and Bell again never agreed on his worth.
That four-year, $57.5 million contract the Los Angeles Rams gave Todd Gurley in late July? That should have been the kind of deal Pittsburgh gave Bell.
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But the Steelers don’t view Bell (two years older than Gurley) as indispensable. The short shelf life of running backs, and the position's quality depth in recent drafts, has Pittsburgh brass leery of such a commitment, even after the all-pro produced 3,830 all-purpose yards and 20 touchdowns in the last two seasons.
So, the Steelers want Bell to do it all over again. One more year, and we’ll talk later.
But Bell has no desire to put himself through another 400-touch season on a one-year franchise tender and with no long-term security.
It’s $14.5 million, you say. Bell can’t suit up for that?
Yes, that’s a lot of money to you, me and many football players. But guaranteed financial security for future years matters more to marquee players such as Bell. It’s especially important for running backs, whom teams chew up and spit out far more quickly than players at other positions.
It’s also about respect, something Bell would say he hasn't received. That’s why he has yet to report to Steelers headquarters and currently looks like a long shot to play in the season opener against the division-rival Cleveland Browns.
The two sides have a bigger problem now, though. The frustrations over the failed negotiations have extended beyond the negotiating table, with the animosity reaching the locker room. You can’t help but wonder if the damage is irreparable, especially after Bell’s offensive linemen put him on blast for his absence at this stage.
"I honestly thought he'd be here today," center Markice Pouncey told reporters Wednesday. "He proved a lot of us wrong."
Said guard Ramon Foster, "What do you do? Here's a guy who doesn't give a damn, I guess. So we'll treat it as such. I just hate it came to this."
Foster went so far as to say, “He’s making seven times what I make, twice as much as (left tackle) Al (Villanueva) is making and we’re the guys who do it for him.”
The lines have been drawn: Us against him. That’s alarming, even to other players.
It’s an unwritten rule: Don’t publicly criticize teammates when business is involved. Root for them to get paid. One day, you could find yourself in the same position.
But the rules of locker room etiquette have been cast aside.
Things began to sour late last season when the Steelers missed out on home field advantage in the playoffs by a narrow margin. Some players couldn't help but wonder how differently things would have played out had Bell reported sooner rather than using the first month of the season to play his way back into shape. A 23-17 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears, where Bell managed just 61 rushing yards on 15 carries, stung in particular. And people familiar with the situation also believe that the offensive linemen's frustrations toward Bell extend even further. He has a habit of not always adhering to the plays because he doesn’t spend extensive time studying the blocking concepts, according to those people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the subject.
Bell’s appreciation for his linemen also has been questioned on more than one occasion, though he bought the unit expensive Hublot watches as Christmas presents last year.
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