Pittsburgh Steelers: ‘Parties aren’t optimistic’ deal gets done with Bell
The deadline for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Le’Veon Bell to land a contract extension is today at 4:00 pm ET. Will a deal get done between the Steelers and the star running back?
According to a report by NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, it doesn’t look promising between Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers on a contract extension.
The #Steelers & RB Le’Veon Bell negotiated all weekend, and this is will go down to the wire, sources say. They nearly got a deal last year before Bell opted not to take it. The fear is the same situation plays out this year. They’ll keep trying but the parties aren’t optimistic.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 16, 2018
Early in the offseason, the Steelers slapped Bell with the franchise tag for the second consecutive year. Bell, wanting the security of a long-term deal, has been quite clear that his demands are quite high, despite there being a bit of grey area of exactly how much.
According to a report by ESPN, Bell won’t accept a yearly salary under the franchise tag’s value at $14.5 million. Bell has claimed at one point he wanted $17 million annually. The only number offered from the Steelers end was around $13 million annually in last year’s negotiations.
The two parties tried to negotiate a long-term contract last offseason, and came close to a deal at the eleventh hour, but ultimately couldn’t see eye to eye. Bell subsequently skipped all of training camp and preseason. If a deal doesn’t get done by the deadline today at 4:00 pm ET, a similar outcome is to be expected.
Head coach Mike Tomlin recently stated in an interview with ESPN he is optimistic a deal will be made between Bell and the Steelers. He shared a similar sentiment last year, even though a contract was never landed.
Next: What to expect from unsigned Bell
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