How much is Le’Veon Bell actually worth?

March 8, 2018 /

On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers placed the exclusive franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell for the second year in a row. This comes after Bell and the Steelers’ front office failed to agree on a long-term contract extension before the franchise tag deadline. He is set to make $14.544 million dollars, all of which will be guaranteed, if he signs the tag.

Under the NFL’s franchise tag rule, a team can apply the tag to any of their pending free agents, once per season. There are three types of tags: exclusive franchise, non-exclusive franchise, and the transition tag. For this article we will focus on the exclusive tag, as it is the tag placed on Bell.

The exclusive franchise tag guarantees the player his full contract for only the upcoming season. His salary is to be set no lower than the average of the top five highest salaries at his respective position, or 120% of the tagged player’s previous year’s salary. The exclusive tag also forbids the player and other teams from negotiating a contract.

Because Bell received the exclusive franchise tag last year, the top five average running back salaries set his salary at $12.1 million for the 2017 season. This season the 120% of his contract last year would be higher than the top five average, which brings us to the reported $14.544 million.

Last year in contract negotiations, Bell reportedly wanted to be paid as the #1 running back in the league, and the as a #2 wide receiver. It is hard to argue his demands, as he ended the 2017 season with 1,291 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, and 85 catches for 655 yards and two touchdowns through the air. For perspective, this places him as a top 3 running back in terms of yards, touchdowns, and yards per rush. As a receiver, he finished with the 10th most receptions, and 55th most yards in the NFL.

In terms of contract values, Devonta Freeman is currently (and historically) the highest paid running back in the league with an average contract salary of $8.25 million per year. In order for Bell to be the highest paid running back in the league, his salary can be set at around $8.5 million per year to start. This brings us to what I assume to be the main breaking point in any long-term negotiations to this point: his value as a receiver.

On a largely varying average, beta receivers in the NFL make anywhere from $4 to $8 million dollars on average per year. Bell reportedly asked for a contract in the range of $14.5 million per year. This would mean he values his receiving skills in the range of $6 million per year. For perspective, Golden Tate, Julian Edelman, Mohamed Sanu, Robert Woods, and Amari Cooper all have salaries within the range Bell appears to be seeking.

Bell appears to contribute a receiving value that is fairly similar to the names mentioned above. However, the Steelers have leverage of their own. It is not breaking news that Bell has brought his fair share of distractions into the Steelers’ locker room over his career. With two drug suspensions, his training camp hold out in 2017, the apparent missed practice ahead of the Jaguars playoff game, and his antics on social media, it is fair to say the team is owed a “hometown discount”. Bell, too, appears to agree with that statement per his tweet yesterday.

Ultimately I believe Bell to be worth a contract right around $14 million dollars. I believe he brings enough play-making abilities and the durability, yes I said durability, to warrant such an unprecedented number. Bell carried the Steelers with 321 carries last year, 34 more than the next closest running back. His knee injuries have been caused by reckless tackles that had nothing to do with durability. With Antonio Brown locked into a contract through the 2021 season, and Big Ben reportedly seeking to play 3 more years, the time is now to lock Bell into a deal.

As for this year, I expect Bell will sit out of training camp once again, and rejoin the team for week one. I do not believe he will retire as reported, leaving the $14.544 million on the table. If the Steelers and Bell are able to agree on a long-term deal by the July 16th deadline, I hope Bell stops his nonsense on social media in trying to gain some sort of sympathy in the eyes of fans.

It’s not a case of the Steelers not wanting Bell, it is a matter of what is in the realm of possibility for the team to stay competitive while shelling out over 25% of their salary cap to Ben, Bell, and Brown. With the emergence of JuJu Smith-Schuster, Bell’s hold on the Steelers’ #2 wide receiver title, and contract leverage, may soon be coming to an end.