We hope to find out very soon whether or not Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell will have his reported four-game suspension overturned after his appeal is finalized. Should, however, Bell’s suspension wind up standing, not only will the running back lose money, the Steelers will as well.
According to a policy created by the NFL that is aimed at promoting good player behavior, teams are forced to surrender a portion of a suspended player’s lost salary as a fine, if multiple players are suspended in a given year.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the policy requires the forfeiture of 15 percent of the lost salary when two players are suspended. If that’s the case, Bell will be the Steelers second player suspended this year being as wide receiver Martavis Bryant has already been suspended for the entire 2016 season for violating the league’s substance policy once again.
Per Florio, “With Bryant due to make $600,000 in 2016 and Bell slated to earn $966,900, the Steelers would then have to fork over $125,294 to the league.
So where does that money go? According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, “The collected funds will be used to support the steroid and drug policies, the Player Care Foundation, and other research and player engagement programs.”
Should the Steelers wind up having a third player suspended, the policy requires the forfeiture of 25 percent of the lost salary. The Dallas Cowboys are currently in this boat due to the suspensions of linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory.
