Le’Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ relationship might not have been as toxic as we all thought.
It became a foregone conclusion that Bell was moving on from Pittsburgh after he elected to sit out the entire 2018 NFL season due to a contract dispute with the franchise. But before the campaign even got underway, the two sides came close to patching things up.
“Pittsburgh’s final offer, Bell says, fell short: five years, $70 million — $14 million per, with the only fully guaranteed money being a $10 million signing bonus,” Sports Illustrated’s Jenny Vrentas wrote Tuesday. “(The Steelers have a policy of not offering future guarantees in veteran deals.) But it was structured to pay out $33 million over the first two seasons, and Pittsburgh has never cut a player one year into a contract that lucrative.
“I was so close,” Bell admitted to Vrentas. “Like, I almost (signed) it.”
Bell ended up landing the guaranteed money he coveted, as $32 million of the four-year, $52.5 million deal he signed with the New York Jets is assured. The star running back wasn’t the only former Steeler to cash in either, as Antonio Brown was granted a lofty reworked contract upon being traded to the Oakland Raiders.
