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Of course he deserves to get paid. And the deal he turned down both last year and this year would make him a very rich man, far richer than any other RB. I don’t see why it’s hard for people to understand that just because you don’t want the Steelers to kill their cap flexibility to match whatever Bell’s names price is means you think it’s “easy to replace him” or think he’s a “villain” or that he doesn’t deserve to be paid after what he puts his body through. None of these things are true. I agree with everything DK said, except that doesn’t mean I think Le’Veon should be able to name his price and destroy the team’s ability to build a team around him.
What if he said $20m? What if he said $30m? What if he said $40m? All of these points about what he’s earned in the past, what he puts his body through, short career for RB, etc. would still hold true - so where do you draw the line as a fan? Surely you have a line where you say “hold on, we can’t build a team if we pay him that” - don’t you? What if he wanted 100% of the salary cap? All those arguments DK (and some of you) made would still hold true. It’s just the Steelers would have 1 player while every other team has 53. So you can’t say you do not have a line, you just don’t know what line is because you like Le’Veon as a player. But here’s the thing - I like Le’Veon as a player too. I want him to be paid and I want him to take care of his family and have a long career and make lots of money too. But there HAS to be a line or else you can’t manage a roster. And I believe $17m (OVER 2x the next guy) is over it.
Has nothing to do with anyone’s personal feelings about Bell or how easy or difficult he is to replace. We won’t replicate Bell with one replacement. We know this. But come on we were the 20th rushing team in the league at less than 4ypc. You don’t think we can come close or better with a committee of younger guys, who combined make way less than $14m (let alone $17m), like both Super Bowl teams have? I mean who was the last SB winning team with a great RB? The Seahawks who were known for the Legion of Boom, who did have a great RB but had also drafted so well in recent years they were lucky enough to have their QB and several key defensive players all on rookie deals. CAP FLEXIBILITY. I mean come on. This love fest some folks have with Bell is understandable and I wish we could keep him at what he wants too, but what does it mean for the rest of the roster?
If you can actually walk me through a scenario where we pay Bell $17m/year without losing key pieces of the roster that we need to win a Super Bowl (or having to force them into a pay cut - hey these other guys have families too, remember?) - then I am 100% on board. Let’s do it. Let’s get a cap guy in there to break it down. I’d love to see
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