The & # 39; Veon Bell takes a stand with the decision to stay away from the 2018 season



[ad_1]


Whenever someone breaks the standards and traditions of a trade, he reacts quickly in a negative way. Such was the case of The Veon Bell, who chose to spend the season away rather than playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers under a franchise label that would have netted him $ 14.5 million this year.

Accessories to Bell to live life on its terms. The All-Pro running back has done nothing that is in violation of the collective agreement, nor the terms of a contract that he has never signed. He simply made the business decision to protect himself against the possibility of serious injury and possible financial losses.

From the moment Bell started sacrificing about $ 850,000 a week by refusing to sign the Steelers' one year offer, this reality was facing us in the face. However, we chose not to see it or not to believe it. Anyway, this concerns us because it was obvious that unlike 2017 (when he was hit with etiquette for the first time and ended a preseason absence in September), the more he remained long, the less likely he would return. The maths just did not succeed.


Even with the approach of the trading deadline on October 30, people have assumed that he could sign the contract and ask to be treated elsewhere. But it was foolish for several reasons. First, the CBA would have prohibited him from negotiating a multi-year contract with a new team until spring, when the club might decide to move in another direction. Secondly, what happens if the staff is not performing as well, or if the system is not ideal, and it ends up producing bad tape for the rest of the league, without it's his fault? And thirdly, was he hurt?

The smart decision was to spend the year and hit the market as a true free agent in the spring. I say likely because the Steelers could still franchise it for a third consecutive year, but the chances of that happening are nonexistent, because the cost would be too prohibitive. The team could also replace it with transits, while preserving its ability to match any agreement that would be offered to it, but a new team would probably structure its agreement in such a way that the Steelers would never do as much.

What's interesting is the way some fans have appealed to Bell. I've always found it fascinating how quickly the audience ranks alongside owners and teams when it comes to dealing with players. Why is that? I think that they should be grateful to have lost so much money to play a kid game. I also believe that there is a racial component; African Americans make up about 70% of the players, and a segment of the population sees them as highly paid players who do not deserve what they get.


I consider Bell a pioneering potential of modern times. It shows players that if they have the financial means and the personal conviction to defend what they think is fair from a business point of view, they have the opportunity to get bigger rewards. Bell was not willing to put himself in a position such that the Steelers could steer him to the ground this year, and then eliminate him during the offseason of the young James Conner, who is now starting instead from Bell. Bell has also eliminated the risk of serious injury or threat to the free equation field career, which can not be said for Earl Thomas (who was defending the future with Seattle in the future). 39, hope to get a new Seahawks contract). Dez Bryant (who was waiting in the independent agent market until he signed for the Saints last week, will only be lost by an Achilles tear before playing a game with the team).

In the end, ask yourself the following question: if your employer offered you a $ 100,000 contract for 2019, but that another company offered a million dollars if you stayed out of the workforce until you In 2020, what would you do? It is really not more complicated than that.

Follow Jim Trotter on Twitter @ JimTrotter_NFL.

[ad_2]
Source link