Newly signed New York Jets running back Le’Veon Bell faces the ultimate humiliation. Imagine your haters and critics mocking you after you’ve agreed to a reported $52.5-million contract with $25 million guaranteed. There’s a maximum value of approximately $61 million. Last summer, reports surfaced that Bell had rejected a reported five-year, $70-million contract.
Haters: Haha! That’s what happens when people get GREEDY! He’s not just an idiot—he’s a HASHTAG IDIOT!
… *facepalm.* Wrong.
Sitting out the 2018 NFL season doesn’t make Bell greedy. It doesn’t make him selfish. You know what would’ve been greedy? Accepting that $14.5 million franchise tag. James Conner never gets an opportunity. Bell risks his health to another 400-plus touches. One injury turns his dream for a long-term contract into a 2019 one-year prove-it deal. His long-term financial health? Anyone’s guess.
Playing 16 games on a franchise tag was unreasonable. Been there, done that in 2017. Maybe it makes sense to return Week 11. We’ll tackle that later.
That reported five-year, $70-million contract? Depending on who you believe, it included $17-20.5 million in guarantees. Only one other running back compares to Bell over these last few seasons: Los Angeles Rams superstar Todd Gurley. Last summer, Gurley agreed to a four-year, $60-million extension. That included a guaranteed $45 million. That extension begins in 2020. His 2018 base salary: $2.3 million. His 2019 base salary: $9.6 million.
Last Sep., Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson received an extension that included a guaranteed $30 million. That was coming off a season where an injury cost him 15 of 16 games. Bell was coming off 406 touches.
Can you blame Bell for demanding more guaranteed money? He’s a workhorse back who can run, catch, and block. He’s a top two, top three at a high usage position. He shouldn’t get guaranteed money similar to role players such as Adam Humphries and Jamison Crowder. Bell’s absence meant Pittsburgh missed the playoffs for the first time since 2013.
A contract is only as good as the guarantees. For running backs, that’s a fact. Need proof? Guess what Gurley is doing this offseason. He was mostly inactive for the conference championship and Super Bowl LIII. There are discussions that his left knee may require stem cell therapy. That’s the same knee which featured a torn ACL from 2014. Reports indicate that he’s had continuous arthritic issues.
Here’s another example: future Hall of Fame safety Earl Thomas. The Former Seattle Seahawks standout agreed to a four-year, $55-million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. The deal includes $32 million guaranteed. That almost didn’t happen. Thomas didn’t hold out past the preseason. His season ended with a broken leg. As a Seahawks player, people will remember him flipping off his sideline while he was carted off amidst doubts of his financial future.
Does Bell get anywhere near those deals if he was an age-27 running back coming off a broken leg? Not in today’s NFL that devalues running backs. Too many teams prefer committees where one guy runs, one guy catches, one guy pass protects, and one guy is above average at everything but not good at anything. Then coaches worry about predictability so they use their pass-catcher as a blocker (although he’s terrible at it), etc….
Labeling Le’Veon Bell as greedy is, quite frankly, complete and utter bullshit.
Flashback to Sep. 2018. Week 1 awaits. I wrote this piece titled Le’Veon Bell Holdout: No Pay, No Play Until Week 11 Is The Right Attitude. My thoughts were that he should sit out for as long as possible before he risked losing the chance to test 2019 free agency. At age 26, Bell had played on a pace similar to that of legendary NFL running back Barry Sanders. There was no reason to risk another 400-plus touches before agreeing to a long-term contract. Bell paid his dues. He shouldn’t play until he was fairly compensated.
Had I been Bell, I would’ve returned Week 11. I would’ve preferred to enter free agency with recent game film. With Conner playing well, I would’ve expected more of a committee approach. That limits my touches. Well, I would’ve expected that until Conner missed three games because of an—wait for it—
INJURY!
I admitted that I would’ve returned Week 11. I’ve reduced my chance of injury. Key word: reduced. If I suffer a major injury that late in the season? Much of 2019 is lost. I’d enter 2020 in an age-28 season. I’m a running back who’s past my prime. My dream of that lucrative contract? Dead. No chance when more and more teams prefer splitting playing time among a 74-man committee than one workhorse. Running back committees are the NFL version of socialism, baby.
People are calling Bell a gambler. The reality is that most of us are the gamblers. We’re the greedy bastards. We’re impatient.
The NFL isn’t your Madden game. Players can’t turn off injuries. If they could, then Bell doesn’t hold out. There’s no risk. He would’ve taken the $14.5 million, had a spectacular season, given the Steelers enough ammunition for a playoff run, then gotten paid.
Maybe Bell cost himself a few million. He may have saved himself tens of millions. The year off allowed his body to recover. Remember that 2014 NFL season season when Adrian Peterson only had 23 touches? Peterson took advantage of his fresh legs. He won the 2015 NFL rushing title. Nearly age 31, Peterson was the second oldest player to accomplish that.
Most people don’t understand what Le’Veon Bell did because it requires PATIENCE. For the younger generations, that’s a foreign concept. Millennials cry foul when they’re not promoted after two minutes. Bell could’ve burned himself out before he reached his goal. He didn’t do that. Bell played his cards right. He earned himself a mint.
The Steelers lost Antonio Brown. Their quarterback is age 37. That five-year contract wasn’t more than a two-year deal at best. Had Bell gotten injured this year and Conner performed well, then Bell gets dumped this offseason. Pittsburgh’s offer was nothing more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing. While New York City has higher taxes, the market has more opportunities to help Bell enhance his brand.
Disagree? Experts can continue calling Le’Veon Bell an idiot. Call him a hashtag idiot. They’d all love to have been enough of a hashtag idiot to sign what amounts to the second largest million-per-year contract among running backs.
One last thing that needs reemphasized: Labeling Le’Veon Bell as greedy is, quite frankly, complete and utter bullshit.
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Joshua Huffman was born and edumacated in Middle Tennessee. He has published content for Yahoo! Sports (via Contributor Network) and Titan Sized, among other venues. At SoBros, he’ll provide Daily Fantasy Sports suggestions and broad sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter (although I rarely use it).
