Le’Veon Bell Admits He Was ‘So Close’ To Signing This Deal With Steelers

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.