{"id":45994,"date":"2018-07-21T12:56:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-21T16:56:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonnfl.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=45994"},"modified":"2018-07-21T12:56:42","modified_gmt":"2018-07-21T16:56:42","slug":"pittsburgh-steelers-levon-bell-contract-extension-failure-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2018\/07\/21\/pittsburgh-steelers-levon-bell-contract-extension-failure-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Le’Veon Bell Contract Failure Signifies Pittsburgh Steelers Look Towards the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0<\/a>have experienced tremendous success over the years, but during the Ben Roethlisberger<\/a><\/strong> era, not much matches the last four. The Steelers have made the playoffs each season, which is an accomplishment the franchise hadn’t achieved in more than two decades.<\/p>\n

During that time frame, the Steelers have averaged more than 11 wins per season and advanced to the AFC Championship Game in 2016. All that’s left to do is get back to the Super Bowl and win a third championship with “Big Ben.”<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, time is running out on the Hall of Fame quarterback. With Roethlisberger celebrating his 36th birthday in March and the pending departure of running back Le’Veon Bell<\/a><\/strong>, it would be very easy to argue the 2018 season is a championship or bust year for the Steelers.<\/p>\n

But failing to sign Bell to a deal isn’t all that shocking and as the team looks towards the future, it isn’t a major loss.<\/p>\n

Bonus Money in Le’Veon Bell Contract Offer<\/h2>\n

On the surface, Bell reportedly turned down<\/a> a five-year, $70 million deal on July 16. With that in mind, the running back comes across to the public as extremely greedy, but a deeper dive into the offer reveals he was probably smart to turn down the deal.<\/p>\n

In the NFL, it’s silly to just look at the entire contract because the player is only guaranteed the signing bonus, and according to Ian Rapoport, the Steelers’ offer to Bell only included a little more than $10 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n

\n

Mentioned yesterday the #Steelers<\/a> final offer to RB Le\u2019Veon Bell was 5 years, $70M. More context today: The fully guaranteed part was his signing bonus of just over $10M. He would\u2019ve made $33M over the 1st two years \u2014 in a rolling guaranteed structure. $45M over the 1st 3 years.<\/p>\n

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 17, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n