WE GO AGAIN
KEVIN McCALLUM: NFL player takes a stand to try to level the playing field
Le’Veon Bell is staging a "hold-out" against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). A hold-out means he hasn’t pitched up to work this season in protest at what he believes is a salary offer that isn’t in his best interests. The system is skewed in favour of team owners and against players such as Bell, who is a running back. He was offered a five-year contract worth $70m, but only $17m of that was guaranteed if he was to pick up an injury that would end his career or leave him on the sidelines. The Steelers placed a "franchise tag" on him, which ties free agents to teams. The good people at sbnation.com explain it better than I could: "The franchise tag is more or less a last resort for teams trying to retain their best unrestricted free agents. It’s essentially a one-year deal that grants a window to negotiate a long-term contract. "If no deal is struck before July 15, the player gets locked into his one-year deal. "The price is based on the average of the ...
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