Prior to the deadline to sign players on franchise tags to extensions on Monday afternoon, there had been much scrutiny on the contract negotiations between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Bowl running back Le'Veon Bell.

There had been chatter that the Steelers had put a five-year, $70 million offer on the table for Bell that was reportedly not quite what he was looking to work out with the organization. In response to that, his agent, Adisa Bakari, stated during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio on Tuesday that there isn't any accuracy to that being the case. (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk)

“No matter what that final number was and I am certainly not saying that what has been reported is accurate because it’s not, quite frankly — the most important element of it is the guarantee,” Bakari said. “You couple that with the traditional way in which Pittsburgh does it’s deals, which, at the end of the day, nothing’s guaranteed after the first year.”

Regardless of that being the case or not, there wasn't a deal worked out between both sides before the deadline that has cemented that Bell will be playing on the franchise tag for the second straight year. It has also opened the door to the possibility that he could be playing in the final year with the Steelers as he's set to hit the free agent market next offseason.

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Throughout the process, Bell had voiced a strong desire to ink a new long-term extension with Pittsburgh, but that didn't come to fruition as the team was unwilling to meet his asking price of $14 million annually. This has now pushed forward an uncertain future for him with the franchise beyond the 2018 campaign.

This may not be the situation, but both sides have already come out to express a desire to work something out next offseason where there will finally be a resolution reached.