Is Le'Veon Bell worth $14.5 mill per year?

[GatorJ]

They can't after this season.

I thought a team could lay the franchise tag on one player every year. As many times as they wanted. Is there a limit?

 

[T REX]

I thought a team could lay the franchise tag on one player every year. As many times as they wanted. Is there a limit?

I thought Brees won a court case a while back and it was determined that you could only franchise a player twice in their career.

 

[GatorJ]

I thought Brees won a court case a while back and it was determined that you could only franchise a player twice in their career.

Maybe. I don’t know. That’s good news for players. Bad news For teams.

 

[TheDouglas78]

I thought a team could lay the franchise tag on one player every year. As many times as they wanted. Is there a limit?

I thought Brees won a court case a while back and it was determined that you could only franchise a player twice in their career.

Three times. Brees was franchised once by the Chargers and twice by the Saints.

 

[GatorJ]

Three times. Brees was franchised once by the Chargers and twice by the Saints.

If Bell has been franchised three times then the Steelers screwed themselves. It means they had three times to get a long-term deal done.

Bell probably has 3 to 4 seasons left.

 

[TheDouglas78]

If Bell has been franchised three times then the Steelers screwed themselves. It means they had three times to get a long-term deal done.

Bell probably has 3 to 4 seasons left.

Correction, this is his 2 year under the tag, and they are paying him $14.5 this year. If they tag him next year under the Franchise tag, they will be paying him $20.94 million under the 3 year tag rule (Bree's rule).

 

[T REX]

Correction, this is his 2 year under the tag, and they are paying him $14.5 this year. If they tag him next year under the Franchise tag, they will be paying him $20.94 million under the 3 year tag rule (Bree's rule).

You are right. No one is paying a RB $20 mill. Hell, no one is paying a RB $14 mill long term. They are disposable. He's trying to change the whole market for RBs. It's a passing league and he's stupid for thinking he's worth all that money.

 

[GatorJ]

Correction, this is his 2 year under the tag, and they are paying him $14.5 this year. If they tag him next year under the Franchise tag, they will be paying him $20.94 million under the 3 year tag rule (Bree's rule).

Then it’s probably a good idea to get him under a 3 to 4 year contract.

 

[T REX]

Then it’s probably a good idea to get him under a 3 to 4 year contract.

They tried. He turned down 5 years $70 million. You think he's worth even that let alone more?

 

[GatorStud]

No

 

[GatorJ]

They tried. He turned down 5 years $70 million. You think he's worth even that let alone more?

Yes. He’s worth that much per year. But I don’t know about five years. Probably four years max. Probably more realistically three years.

 

[heversle]

heversle, he is already franchised that is the point, they had until 4pm yesterday to work out a long term deal or he stays on the tag.

My point is they should have locked him up long term. You can’t let a guy that talented walk next year, especially when your franchise QB is about to retire. Just because he’s touched the ball a lot doesn’t mean he’s going to fall off a cliff immediately. That seems like conventional wisdom, but there are outliers in all sports. I think Le’Veon is more of the LeBron mold in terms of being a freak athlete that maximizes the duration of his career. Injuries can happen to anyone, but he’s a very intelligent back that doesn’t take a lot of unnecessary hits.

 

[T REX]

Yes. He’s worth that much per year. But I don’t know about five years. Probably four years max. Probably more realistically three years.

We agree to disagree. I would never pay a RB that much. Who were the Pats and Eagles RBs? Exactly.

 

[TheDouglas78]

My point is they should have locked him up long term. You can’t let a guy that talented walk next year, especially when your franchise QB is about to retire. Just because he’s touched the ball a lot doesn’t mean he’s going to fall off a cliff immediately. That seems like conventional wisdom, but there are outliers in all sports. I think Le’Veon is more of the LeBron mold in terms of being a freak athlete that maximizes the duration of his career. Injuries can happen to anyone, but he’s a very intelligent back that doesn’t take a lot of unnecessary hits.

Now I think we both agree Lavon Bell has been top 3 at his position for 4 of his 5 seasons in the NFL (missing 10 games is the only missing one). The question comes from the franchise cost/benefit analysis. With a hard cap that has to be taken into account, especially for a player who has taken the punishment he has, asking to take roughly 10-15% of the total cap. A guy who has only played 16 games once in his career (15 last year, but I believe he was coaches decision DNP in week 17). A guy who has been caught by the league's drug policy 3 times. A players whose body has taken a large amount of punishment. That takes it toll regardless of what kind of freak athlete you think he is. Their offensive line isn't the best, and in doing so there is no telling how much extra abuse his body has taken. He has been incredibly productive, but father time is undefeated.

They offered him a deal that is $14 million a year over 5 and he turned it down. What number would you go up to, on a 5 year deal for a back that is 27. I don't disagree with a one year rental at $14.5, he is highly productive. But to tie the team up for 5 years, when just the law of averages says that production is going to go down. Like you mentioned Ben R is on the downside of his career, what happens to Bell's production when he is gone? Is that production going to be worth $14 million?

 

[heversle]

Now I think we both agree Lavon Bell has been top 3 at his position for 4 of his 5 seasons in the NFL (missing 10 games is the only missing one). The question comes from the franchise cost/benefit analysis. With a hard cap that has to be taken into account, especially for a player who has taken the punishment he has, asking to take roughly 10-15% of the total cap. A guy who has only played 16 games once in his career (15 last year, but I believe he was coaches decision DNP in week 17). A guy who has been caught by the league's drug policy 3 times. A players whose body has taken a large amount of punishment. That takes it toll regardless of what kind of freak athlete you think he is. Their offensive line isn't the best, and in doing so there is no telling how much extra abuse his body has taken. He has been incredibly productive, but father time is undefeated.

They offered him a deal that is $14 million a year over 5 and he turned it down. What number would you go up to, on a 5 year deal for a back that is 27. I don't disagree with a one year rental at $14.5, he is highly productive. But to tie the team up for 5 years, when just the law of averages says that production is going to go down. Like you mentioned Ben R is on the downside of his career, what happens to Bell's production when he is gone? Is that production going to be worth $14 million?

The Steelers screwed themselves by not locking him up a few years ago. They’ve made the decision they made and he’s going to walk next year. They may lose AB eventually as well once Ben retires and they have to completely rebuild their offense. If they don’t win the SB this year, they probably won’t be very good for a long time.