Report: Bell wants $17M+ per year, $45M guaranteed on next contract

Le'Veon Bell wants to be the highest-paid running back in football.

The All-Pro tailback is seeking more than $17 million per year and $45 million guaranteed on his next contract, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley currently owns the richest contract at the position after signing a four-year, $57.5-million deal in July that pays him an annual average of $14.3 million and $45 million in guarantees.

Bell refused to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, choosing not to sign a franchise tag that would've paid him $14.5 million for the year. By voiding his contract, he hopes to hit free agency in the offseason.

Rapoport reports that there's a very real possibility that the Steelers use their transition tag on Bell in the hopes of matching any offer sheet he receives on the open market.

In fact, the Steelers made a last-ditch attempt to get Bell into the building before the franchise tag deadline on Tuesday. However, Bell wanted the team to promise not to use the transition tag on him in 2019 and the Steelers refused to do so, ESPN's Adam Schefter reports.

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