Le'Veon Bell's Move to Kansas City Was About More Than Football
When the Kansas City Chiefs were one of the final two teams announced in the running for free-agent running back Le'Veon Bell Thursday, there was an interesting distinction between the clubs.
Bell faced a familiar decision with the Miami Dolphins also vying for his talents. Does he favor winning or money more?
I talk about the signing of Bell with not one, but two regulars of the Roughing the Kicker podcast on today's episode. Arrowhead Report's Jordan Foote and Conner Christopherson join me to break the whole saga down from every angle.
Bell has had the appearance, in the past, that he is seemingly playing for the paycheck as he sat out the entirety of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2018 season due to contract disputes.
As soon as he was a free agent, the running back signed with the New York Jets, who aren't particularly known for their winning but flexible cap room. Bell signed a four year, $52.5 million contract with the Jets in 2019.
He wouldn't make it two full years in The Big Apple before he was back on the market with the same decision. With New York being unable to move his contract, the Jets are now stuck with a $15 million dead cap hit and may still have to pay Bell for the season.
Now as the teams for his selection laid before him, he had a choice to make.
Would he go down to Miami? It's where he trains in the offseason, there's no state income tax, he would more than likely be the starter and they have more money to offer him.
But Kansas City is a clear title favorite, he's not going to have a starting role, and while not much is known about contract specifics, it won't be much higher than the veteran minimum.
Choosing the Chiefs was more than just a football move for Bell, it was a business one. It now looks as he finally values winning over money and he may have picked the right time to decide that.
The addition of Bell has drawn comparisons to Thanos getting the last infinity stone and I don't think it's far off. With all the weapons at Mahomes disposal, give him three seconds of protection and I'd have a hard time picking another team to beat the Chiefs.
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