Le'Veon Bell Reveals Why He Will Not Play Football This Year

To some, Le’Veon Bell jumping into the boxing ring might be comical. But Bell is going all in on his boxing venture.

On Tuesday, Bell told reporters that he would not be playing football in the 2022 NFL season because he wanted to focus on his upcoming fight with Adrian Peterson, saying it is not a “one-off fight.”

“This is, I guess like my introduction to kind of show what I’ll be doing and how I'll be going about myself,” Bell said. Just an intro.”

Bell also said he was excited to face a "great opponent" like Peterson in his first fight. 

“Couldn’t have been a better name for my first opponent,” Bell said.

The two NFL free agent running backs are slated to square off in an exhibition match on July 30 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be on the undercard of Social Gloves Entertainment, a card that features boxing events between social media personalities, athletes and celebrities. Peterson nor Bell have ever competed in a boxing ring.

Bell and Peterson are two of the NFL’s best running backs of their generation. Between the two of them, they have compiled 10 Pro Bowls and six First-Team All-Pro nominations. Peterson, 37, saw action in four games—three with the Titans and one with the Seahawks—during the 2021 season. The former MVP still holds the record for the most rushing yards (296) in a single game.

The 30-year-old Bell, who holds a plethora of Steelers franchise records, also saw time for a pair of teams in 2021, splitting eight appearances with the Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

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