Jul 7, 2016 3 min read

“I’m at the top and if not I’m the closest, Ima need 15 a year and they know this.”

Le’Veon Bell-“Focus”

It’s not often that players make contract demands in rap songs. And Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell didn’t exactly make a demand in his rap song, “Focus.”

But he did make a statement to which people are paying attention. You can bet the Steelers are as well.

So, can Bell, or perhaps more appropriately, should Bell become the first $15-million a year running back?

Maybe.

But he has to stay healthy for an entire season to make that case.

Bell played in 16 games in 2014 – he was injured in the regular season finale and missed the playoffs – and posted 2,215 total yards. That total was good for 22nd place on the league’s all-time single-season list, though DeMarco Murray led the league with 2,261 that year.

And Bell looked better in 2015, before getting hurt, than he had in 2014.

Despite playing four full games without Ben Roethlisberger, Bell averaged 126.8 yards per game in his five complete games in 2015. That works out to another 2,000-yard total season despite playing with Mike Vick and Landry Jones at quarterback.

Does that make Bell worth $15 million per year?

Maybe. He did, after all, just turn 24 in February. He’s got a lot of football left in him.

But he also plays the NFL’s most physically demanding position.

And therein lies the rub.

In recent years, the NFL has chosen not to value running backs as it did in the past. Adrian Peterson’s current contract averages $14 million per year. But the next closest deal, that of LeSean McCoy, is worth just over $8 million per season.

Bell, however, has had injury issues in each of his three NFL seasons.

His current deal is up at the end of this year. And there’s no reason why Bell would want to sign an extension now. The Steelers aren’t like to offer him anything close to Peterson money and he’s going to bet on himself staying healthy this season and taking a run at Chris Johnson’s NFL record for yards from scrimmage of 2,509.

There’s no reason a healthy Bell can’t reach that number. In fact, with Martavis Bryant out for the year because of a drug suspension, there’s no reason Bell can’t post 1,500 yards rushing and 1,000 receiving. He’s that good and that big of a part of the passing game.

If that happens, he’ll demand $15 million as a free agent.

And the Steelers will likely be forced to place the franchise tag of $12 or so million on him for 2017. That won’t be “15 a year,” as Bell said in his song, but it will be close.

The Steelers, however, will be happy to pay it. If Bell puts up 2,500 yards in 2016, that means the team likely will be hoisting a trophy or two at the end of the season.