OT: Would you take this gamble?
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No I would have taken the money. Yes some idiot team probably will pay him the coin he desires or at least close to it, but this is $14.5 million he is not going to get back either.
As long as he gets just one owner (and i'd see the Raiders as willing) and gets even something like 28m guaranteed, he's ahead of the game. He did get a half year older, but with no wear and tear or concussions etc. And he was able to party, smoke weed, etc.all fall. He seems a big attention whore, and definitely got a ton of it. It's a gamble, but actually looks like a good one at this time, IMO.
I’ll be shocked if anyone guarantees him 56 large over two years. Remember he wants a long term guarantee agreement over the term as well
(Shrug). We all want a lot of crazy things. Most of us end up wth bupkis. But with Bell, even if gets just half of what he says he's insisting on, that's still a ridiculous amount of money. And he likely had a blast, dicking around during a year in the prime of his life, not when he is too old or beat up to enjoy it as much.
I get it that fans feel scorned by it... it's a little like what everyone tells ME about Robert Foster. "It's not personal just business".
But Foster could well have ended up with bupkis. He was lucky to latch on with a team (the worst one by far in the league). Still, his gamble paid off, at least until he's cut next summer. He got a few sheckles. But Bell's gamble is apt to pay off "bigly".
All i know is, (1) the steelers will go to at least the same numbers of SBs without him and (2) it freed up the spot for a Pitt guy to emerge as the city's newest star. With Bell in the way, I saw JCs career here limited at best. Instead, James is the toast of the town. Win win win.
The only thing way he ends up ahead of the game is if some team gives him an outrageous signing bonus worth way more than the 15 million he passed on this year. In other words give him the money for free next year that he didn’t earn this year.
Yep. That is the definition of "gamble".
There are more than a couple team owners that just might do it. Might even have made a under the table deal already. Which might be why he went to this extreme to sit totally out. I don't think he nor the team was expecting he'd do that, even up to 3 days ago. Which suggests to me he might have Raiders handshake deal. Still, "handshake" is not official. Hence, the word "gamble".
I don’t dislike bell. I just think from a pure financial perspective it wasn’t a smart move on his part. Time will tell but he is gambling that someone will guarantee him more than 45 large over the next two years. I find that hard to believe given his position and his history of off the field issues and injuries. He’s also reaching the age where RBs start to decline.
I just read the article on the PG about him not signing today.
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14287971-74/tomlin-ready-to-move-on-minus-leveon-bell
He had already given up over 8 mil to date, and gave up another 6 + mil if he would have signed for the rest of the year.
So, he's a running back with 5 seasons under his belt, and will have been out of college for 7 years by next season.
I don't see where he made the right choice. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled a Ricky Williams.
This is number 1,467 why I don't follow the NFL any longer. Good for him, I guess, but not so good for the fans. Which is what I would care about.
https://triblive.com/sports/steelers/14287971-74/tomlin-ready-to-move-on-minus-leveon-bell
He had already given up over 8 mil to date, and gave up another 6 + mil if he would have signed for the rest of the year.
So, he's a running back with 5 seasons under his belt, and will have been out of college for 7 years by next season.
I don't see where he made the right choice. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if he pulled a Ricky Williams.
This is number 1,467 why I don't follow the NFL any longer. Good for him, I guess, but not so good for the fans. Which is what I would care about.
How? Gurley reportedly got $45 million in guarantees, but the reality was it was just $21,950,000. The rest were future roster bonuses and injury guarantees. In other words, the Rams could cut him to avoid paying those roster bonuses down the line.
The Steelers offered Bell $70 million, which included a $10 million signing bonus and a $10 roster bonus days after his contract would've been signed. Factor in the league minimum base salary and he would've received $20.79 million this year, just over a million below Gurley's total.
By 2020, Gurley would receive the rest of his guarantees, which totaled $45 million. Pittsburgh was going to pay Bell $47 million over three years, meaning he'd have $23 million in what I'd assume would be salary at the end of the contract. Given how the front office operates, he likely would have seen a lot of that money pushed forward when they restructured his deal to lower his cap hit.
That's what he passed on and then forfeited $14.5 million this year. I have zero clue how he makes that up unless a team offers him an absurd $85-87 million over five years.
Too bad. You're missing a GREAT season from former Pitt running back James Conner. Couldn't have happened without Bell's absence.
I've been able to keep up with James through this site. I've enjoyed reading about his success, but that hasn't made me want to follow the NFL again.
I wish all former Pitt guys success. I also don't root against the Steelers, and I'm glad they're doing well, I just lost my passion for following them. It's been a steady decline for over 15 years.
I am of the opinion that it is a coin flip between Radiers and Jets
And I see epic fail in Bell's future with either of them
Not a chance. Chubb has feature back capabilities and they love Duke Johnson as well.
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Can anyone say Albert Haynesworth Jr. ? Bell is in this for the money, and only for the money, and once he gets his gaurante he is going to bust. He is either going to toke it up and get suspended again, or just ma it in, or both. Buyer beware. However signs him will get what they deserve. If I was a GM I wouldn’t touch him with an a 11 and a half foot pole.
This decision to hold out is all on him. It has been reported that his agent told him to accept the Steelers last offer, but he refused. Hell, his mother even told him to take the offer last year. I don’t know what he is expecting, but I doubt it will be anything close to what the Steelers offered. Good bye, and good riddance. As they say, don’t let the door hit you in the $$$$ as you walk out the door.
This decision to hold out is all on him. It has been reported that his agent told him to accept the Steelers last offer, but he refused. Hell, his mother even told him to take the offer last year. I don’t know what he is expecting, but I doubt it will be anything close to what the Steelers offered. Good bye, and good riddance. As they say, don’t let the door hit you in the $$$$ as you walk out the door.
Never underestimate an aging billionaire.
Any team w any front office in its right mind wouldn’t touch that pothead with the dough he wants.
But there’s Joltin Jerry, the Bungled Browns ( keep Lewis don’t they) and the Davis family.
As the saying goes it only takes one.
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The worst possible thing that could have derailed Bell's maximized financial success was James Conner's supreme performance on the field of play... I enjoy the way that has worked out.
If it occurs, he'll get a ton of up front guaranteed money with either, and that's his only priority, it appears. So from that view, he'll succeed.
Mike Lombardi (former GM) said you pay QB’s, Pass Rushers, lock down corners, and Left tackles. Those are players you can’t get in free agency. You have to draft them and keep them. Any other position is replaceable
