Bell has yet to sign his $14.5M franchise tag, which would pay him up to $850,000 per weekGETTY IMAGES
There will be an "arbitration case brewing" between the NFL and NFLPA regarding Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell's salary next season "in the event the transition tag is placed on him, whether by the Steelers or any other NFL team," according to sources cited by Jason La Canfora of CBSSPORTS.com. Bell has "yet to sign" his $14.5M franchise tag for this season, one that "would pay him roughly $850,000 per week over 17 weeks." The amount of a possible '19 transition tag "would be reflected by '120 percent'" of Bell's salary for this year. However, sources said that the Steelers -- or any other NFL team -- "would determine that salary means the actual amount of money Bell earned" in '18, and "not simply the amount of the franchise tag had he signed it before the season began." Sources within the NFLPA "conceded that it is something the union has at least given some thought to" (CBSSPORTS.com, 10/7).
READY FOR BATTLE: In Houston, Aaron Wilson noted NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith last week "delivered a message to the Texans' players during a meeting that it's time to get prepared with a labor battle looming on the horizon." Smith has told players extending the current CBA is "unlikely," and this is a "time for strong leadership and saving money in the event of a lockout." Smith said of his meeting with the Texans, "We spent a lot of time talking about history and how [guys] have stepped up and times where, quite frankly, people haven't. A union rises and falls based on how well its players take care of each other, the type of leadership we have and the economics of the player deal" (CHRON.com, 10/6).
GOOD WITH THE BAD: NBCSPORTS.com's Peter King writes if the NFLPA "wants a cause" for the next CBA negotiations, the travel logistics around Thursday games "might be it." "TNF" has become a "huge money-maker for the league, and thus for the players," meaning it is "very likely not going away, particularly now that the league has made a far better Thursday night schedule to accommodate free-spending Fox." But "TNF" will "always be the yeah-but element to those in the league saying they're doing everything humanly possible about player safety" (NBCSPORTS.com, 10/8).
