For the second straight year, the Pittsburgh Steelers have put the franchise tag on star running back Le’Veon Bell. Since it’s the second time they’ve used that designation on Bell, it will cost them a costly sum of $14.5 million.
In order to make room for Bell’s salary on their cap, the Steelers have restructured wide receiver Antonio Brown’s contract which frees up nearly $10 million in space.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network:
Antonio Brown's restructured contract with the Steelers frees up $9.7 million in 2018 cap space, source said. Cash is the same. Helps them fit Le'Veon Bell's $14.544M franchise tag under the cap when the league year begins March 14.
It should be clear that Brown is not sacrificing any money with this salary restructure. The Steelers are merely pushing cap charges for Brown to the future in order to fit Bell in this year.
Brown still owns the top contract among all NFL wide receivers in terms of average annual value, which is close to $17 million. He was once again well-worth that huge contract as he led the league with 1,533 receiving yards on 101 catches and had nine touchdowns last season.
Bell has also been right there as one of, if not the most productive player at his position, which is why he wants to get paid just like Brown. But he and the Steelers failed to come to terms on a long-term deal, which was why they once again had to place the tag on him before the deadline on Tuesday. The Steelers still hope to get a deal done with Bell by July 16, or they risk Bell possibly sitting games out.
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