{"id":822388,"date":"2026-03-20T03:15:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T03:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/822388\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T03:15:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T03:15:34","slug":"they-didnt-want-it-to-work-leveon-bell-explains-the-one-change-that-couldve-kept-him-in-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/822388\/","title":{"rendered":"‘They Didn’t Want It To Work:’ Le’Veon Bell Explains The One Change That Could’ve Kept Him In Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mid-2010s Pittsburgh Steelers had one of the best offenses in the league, nicknamed the Killer Bs. They got that name because of their star players, Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le\u2019Veon Bell. Unfortunately, that era of Steelers football didn\u2019t end well. Bell had a particularly ugly split with the team.<\/a> He held out the entire 2018 season because of a contract dispute, leaving Pittsburgh after that year. However, he believes that things could\u2019ve been different had Omar Khan been the team\u2019s general manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like they didn\u2019t want it to work,\u201d Bell said recently on Netflix\u2019s The White House podcast.<\/a> \u201cAt the time, it was Kevin Colbert, I think the GM now, Omar Khan, if that exact situation happened again, I think it gets done. I think the deal gets done, Killer Bs is still there\u2026the GM at the time and my agent, they had a [problem].\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell\u2019s contract issues began when the Steelers placed the franchise tag on him for the 2017 season. He wanted a long-term deal, but the two sides couldn\u2019t agree on one. However, Bell still suited up for them that year and earned First-team All-Pro honors.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Steelers and Bell still couldn\u2019t agree to a deal after that, and the team put the franchise tag on him again. Bell retaliated by sitting out for the entire 2018 season. He left the Steelers for the New York Jets in 2019, ending his time as one of the NFL\u2019s best running backs. Bell never had more than 800 rushing yards in a season after that, and he hasn\u2019t played in the league since 2021.<\/p>\n

Bell\u2019s agent at the time was Adisa Bakari, who has negotiated deals for several NFL and NBA players. The NFLPA\u2019s website states<\/a> that he has negotiated 23 current contracts. While it\u2019s unclear if Bakari and Colbert actually had an issue, negotiations didn\u2019t seem to be going great between them in 2018.<\/p>\n

During Bell\u2019s dispute that year, Bakari went on SiriusXM NFL Radio<\/a> and made some comments about his client\u2019s situation. In response, Colbert stated that the Steelers wouldn\u2019t discuss the situation through the media. It seemed like Bakari\u2019s tactics might have rubbed Colbert the wrong way.<\/p>\n

Statement from the Steelers upon request for GM Kevin Colbert in light of agent Adisa Bakari’s comments on Le’Veon Bell: “We are not going to discuss any conversations through the media. If Adisa (Bakari) would like to talk further, he has the phone number to our offices.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 5, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no telling if things would\u2019ve been different with Khan, though. One of Bell\u2019s biggest sticking points was the lack of guaranteed money from Pittsburgh. That practice has changed slightly, but it may have been tough for him to work that into his deal because he plays running back. There\u2019s a great deal of risk associated with giving that much money to that position.<\/p>\n

For what it\u2019s worth, Colbert had nothing but nice things<\/a> to say about Bell a few years ago. He even said he wished the running back had stayed in Pittsburgh for his whole career. It doesn\u2019t sound like he wanted Bell to leave. It was just an unfortunate scenario where the organization and player never reached a middle ground.<\/p>\n