Two years ago, the NFL and NFL Players Association agreed that appeals under the substance-abuse policy would be resolved by neutral arbitration. That agreement has set the stage for plenty of individual agreements between league and union to be reached.
PFT has confirmed that the three-game suspension imposed on Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell was the result of a negotiation between the NFL and NFLPA, which came before a ruling was issued on the all-or-nothing possibility of a four-game suspension for allegedly missing a drug test or, per a report from the league’s in-house media conglomerate, multiple missed drug tests.
It’s the kind of deal that was much harder to strike when the league office both made the disciplinary decision and handled the appeal. It’s much easier to strike with real uncertainty regarding the resolution of the appeal process.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that Bell will remaining in his current posture under the substance-abuse program, which means that his next violation (if there is one) will trigger a four-game suspension, not a 10-game suspension.
Based on precedent from Von Miller’s case in 2013, Bell won’t be responsible for paying back bonus money unless the deal specifically mentions that he’ll be returning 3/17ths of the signing bonus allocation applicable to 2016 (i.e., $60,741).
The suspension means that the Steelers will be required to surrender 15 percent of the money lost by Bell and receiver Martavis Bryant in 2016, up to $150,000. With Bryant due to make $600,000 this year (he’ll lose all of it) and Bell now slated to earn $966,900 (he’ll lose $170,629), 15 percent of the combined lost salary equates to $115,594.
