It’s no secret that Le’Veon Bell has strong feelings about how he perceives he’s been treated by the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have not seen fit to pay the All-Pro running back what he feels he deserves.
Ever since last year, he’s been dropping not-so-subtle hints that he should be making around $17 million per year.
Now a new rap song entitled Target, released by the NFL star ahead of Memorial Weekend, once again contains a strong message to the Steelers, and to anyone who has ever had anything negative to say about him.
“So they put me on the tag, alright. Definitely not going to trip like I that bad guy. Wonder why they treat me like the bad guy,” Bell raps (h/t Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). “You say I ain’t the best, but that’s a bad lie. I’m a do what I want just leave me alone. If I don’t do what you want then you want me gone. I’m a say you being real aggressive, the way you switch up on me real impressive.”
We’re not sure who’s saying Bell “ain’t the best.” He clearly is. Also, the Steelers don’t want Bell gone. They just don’t want to pay him like a top-flight wide receiver. And that’s understandable. As good as he is, he plays a position that inevitably leads to more injuries and a shorter shelf live than any other position in the NFL. Additionally, top running backs are found every year on the cheap during the draft. So, despite his talents, Bell doesn’t have tremendous leverage here.
Bell has already made it clear he’s not going to show up until after training camp unless he gets a new long-term deal. That’s what he did last year, and it didn’t really affect his game, as he racked up nearly 2,000 total yards and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage.
Alluding to this, he rapped, “You think if I sit out, I’ll be sluggish. You think they won’t pay me because of drug tests. For a fact, I ain’t never failed one, that’s on me. You so worried about the weed, what about them PEDs?”
For what it’s worth, when Bell does become a free agent next March, assuming Pittsburgh doesn’t give him the deal he’s seeking, he’ll have made $26.7 million fully guaranteed in two seasons, which is a huge gob of cash for anyone, especially a running back.