The agent takes: answers to the eight questions of The Veon Bell that everyone has asked



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The assumption was that "Veon Bell," who received his second consecutive franchise label in early March, this time for $ 14.544 million, would take the same approach as last year when he and the Steelers have been able to reach an agreement July deadline for franchise players to sign long-term agreements. The running back had jumped all pre-season 2017 before signing his call for bids on Labor Day.

Bell has not reported yet, to the dismay of the Steelers. There is an unwritten rule that players must remain silent if they do not support the contractual attitude of a teammate. This did not stop some of Bell's teammates, especially the offensive line, from criticizing his continued absence severely.

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Adisa Bakari, Bell's agent, did not give any indication during the appearances on the radio and television at the time of the reporting of the three All Pro. It remains to be seen when Bell will join the Steelers, even if that would happen Saturday according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.

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In the meantime, here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions I've received on Twitter over the last few days regarding Bell's situation.

Why is Bell not signed?

The absence of Bell is not funded in the same way as that of Aaron Donald, Earl Thomas and Khalil Mack. Under the collective agreement rule, the Steelers can only sign a multi-year contract with Bell after the regular 2018 season, which ends December 30.

Bell should have an extremely heavy workload if he reports to the Steelers. He led the NFL with 321 rush attempts and 406 touchdowns (combined receptions and simultaneous attempts) despite the end of the season for precautionary action against the playoffs.

Bell and his agent worry about the fact that a heavy use this season will affect his ability to earn a huge salary in 2019, probably as an unrestricted free agent. The free agencies have been largely disappointing for the rollbacks with high salary expectations that attempt to capitalize on outstanding performance in recent years.

DeMarco Murray is a great example. He was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 after breaking the Emitt Smith Cowboys' season record by winning 1,845 rushing yards in 392 carries, the eighth highest in the year. the regular season. Murray still had 44 playoff races to bring his total to 436 rushing attempts. He tied in the NFL's lead in touchdowns and had the most yards in the league. Murray also broke the NFL record of six straight 56-year games with 100 yards per race or more to start a season with an eight-game series.

Reserves over Murray's future productivity due to the historical performance of the halves after a season of high mileage prevented him from making his success as much as he could if he played in virtually any other position. The Cowboys were unwilling to make a substantial financial commitment to Murray because of this and his belief that he was taking advantage of a great offensive line. Murray was awarded a $ 40 million five-year contract – which included $ 21 million in guarantees and up to $ 42 million in salary escalators – from the free agency Eagles in 2015. The agreement allowed Murray NFL to win the sixth highest prize per year.

Will Bell receive his full call for proposals when he signs after the start of the regular season?

Bell loses 1 / 17th of its franchise offer of $ 14.544 million, which has weighed on the salary cap of Pittsburgh since its appointment for each week that is missing. That's $ 855,529 a week. In addition to saving money, the Steelers get a credit for that salary for each week it's not signed.

The Steelers may request a two-week list exemption on return from Bell, which would allow them to exceed the limit of 53 players. A list change would not need to be done until Pittsburgh decided to activate Bell. Since Bell is an unsigned franchise player, the Steelers and Bell agent must agree on the amount of payback period that would be paid under the exemption prior to its signing. . In practice, it is difficult to envision an exemption scenario in which Bell would receive less than its full weekly salary from its offer.

Bell will receive only a proportionate amount of its franchise offer. For example, if Bell signed after the fourth week of the regular season, he would receive 13/17 of his $ 14.544 million, or about $ 11,222 million. Bell must sign before Saturday to obtain the full amount of the bid.

Can the Steelers give Bell more than its franchise offer to encourage it to report?

Yes. Bell is not limited to playing for his call for bids with the Steelers. He is allowed to negotiate his salary of one year and other conditions relating to his franchise player status.

It is customary for franchise players who do not receive long-term offers to play for the amount of the call for bids. The defensive end of the Giants, Jason Pierre-Paul, signed a one-year contract in 2015, rewarded with a bonus, after being seriously injured in the right hand during a race. fireworks accident occurred on July 4th. play football until seven weeks after the start of the season.

Bell receiving more than the amount of its offer would be unprecedented. Some franchisees were able to negotiate a clause preventing a franchise or transition designation for the next year to ensure a free unrestricted agency. This has not happened for a decade.

Can the Steelers cancel Bell's call for tenders?

It would be counterproductive to cancel the bid for the NFL's top double threat, as the Steelers aspire to the Super Bowl. Bell would become an unrestricted free agent with cancellation.

The franchise offers have been revoked four times. The last dismissal was Josh Norman's defeat by the Panthers in 2016, just before the NFL draft. Norman quickly signed a long-term contract with the Redskins, making him the NFL's highest-paying cornerback. The only time this happened after the opening of the training camps was when the Eagles canceled defensive tackle Corey Simon just before the start of the 2005 regular season. He signed a long-term contract lucrative with the Colts several days later.

Can the Steelers still trade Bell?

Bell may be distributed to another team until the trade deadline for the 2018 season at 4:00 pm. AND October 30th. However, players with unsigned offers can not be traded before being signed.

Essentially, it gives Bell a de facto non-exchange clause. I've helped to represent cornerback Jimmy Hitchcock while working as an agent. We recommended to Hitchcock to refuse to sign his restricted free agent offer so that the Patriots could not trade him against the Ravens during the 1998 NFL draft because he did not want to be transferred to a team . He killed the trade. Hitchcock signed his call for tenders for an exchange with the Vikings, who had not used a high choice in a cornerback.

A team must have enough leeway to absorb the amount of Bell's pro rata franchise offer to allow it to trade during the season. For example, a team that acquires Bell on the trading date must have at least $ 7.7 million of margin available for 9/17 of its deductible.

The ban on signing a long-term contract until the end of the season also applies to the new team with an exchange. The inability to sign long-term Bell complicates a transaction and limits the compensation that Pittsburgh could get back for him.

The acquiring team could nominate Bell as a transition or franchise player, which would be his third time in 2019. A player can only be franchised three times during his career. The procedures outlined in the CBA require that Bell's third tag be the highest of 144% of its second franchisee designation or the highest number in any position, which is almost always a quarter. Assuming that the 2019 salary cap is in the $ 190 million neighborhood, the number of backslides should be about $ 25 million.

Is there a deadline for Bell to sign?

It is 4 pm ET on Tuesday after the games of week 10 (November 13). This is the signature deadline for draft selections, unrestricted free agents receiving a call for tenders for the month of May and players with free agents, franchises or transitional offers with restricted authorization. If these types of players remain unsigned after that date, they are prohibited from playing during the 2018 season.

Are there any special considerations regarding the signature on or near the deadline?

No. Since I thought Bell's contracts could result in a one-year fee or extension and he had to accumulate one season (ie one year of service for a free agency), I checked with some NFL team and NFLPA sources have confidence to get clarification.

A team may attempt to determine a player's contract under the extension provisions of paragraph 16 of the NFL's standard player contract when a player has a lengthy period of time. 39, waiting in the regular season. The toll does not apply to the absence of Bell because it does not retain the services that it is contractually required to perform. It is not signed. That's the same reason Donald, Mack and Thomas were subject to daily fines during the pre-season with their delays while Bell was not. If one of the three had continued their delays until week 10, they would run the risk of seeing their contracts rise.

Generally, at least six regular-season games are required on the list of 53 men, injured or physically unable to complete a season. The weeks during which a player is exempt from the list are not eligible. If Bell was not activated during a two-week exemption, he would have five games to consider for an accumulated season, which would leave him one game less.

Getting a new season does not count for Bell or anyone with at least four of them because these players already have enough service time to qualify for an unrestricted free agency with a contract that is about to expire. Bell already has five seasons.

My sources confirmed my understanding. The NFLPA indicated that a grievance would be filed on behalf of Bell if the Steelers attempted to charge for his contract under these circumstances.

What happens if Bell performs all season?

Clearly, Bell would not be paid for its $ 14.544 million franchise offer. The Steelers would get $ 14.544 million in course relief this year. The unused capitalization margin could be carried forward to 2019. A franchise player has not played a full season since the late 1990s: Redskins defensive tackle Sean Gilbert did so in 1997, and defensive end Dan Williams followed suit a year later.

The Steelers should appoint Bell as a transition or franchise player in 2019 to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. The CBA requires a bid no higher than 120% of the previous year's salary (ie Salary Limit Number) or the sum of the last five by cumulative salary limits for the same period the resulting percentage is multiplied by the salary cap of the current year (known as the average percentage of capitalization). Since the average number of projects reached $ 11.325 million if the 2019 salary cap is set in the $ 190 million neighborhood, the Bell brand would come from the salary of the previous year. A third franchise label for Bell would be the same as its current figure because its previous year 's salary would have a salary of $ 12.12 million in 2016.

A third franchise designation would work as the exclusive Bell received this year. He would be barred from soliciting an offer card from other NFL teams.

This dynamic strongly encourages Bell to return before the deadline of week 11. Despite its acrimony, pushing it to $ 14.544 million would not be out of place, while some $ 25 million would be too expensive.

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