EDITOR
’S NOTE: Many, many readers submitted questions concerning various aspects of the Le’Veon Bell situation, with the most http://www.authenticcowboyssale.com/shop-by-players-terrance-williams-jersey-c-2_21.html common being how the franchise tag tender is determined and how many times a team can use the franchise tag on the same player. These first two questions were selected to represent all of those:ED SWARTZ FROM NORWICH, OH:
Can you explain how the NFL determined that Le
’Veon Bell will get paid $12.1 million under the franchise tag, when the highest paid running back is only getting around $8 million this year?ANSWER: Under prior labor deals, the non-exclusive franchise tag was determined by the average of the five highest-paid players at each position from the prior year. Under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, the franchise tender number is based on the five-year average cap percentage at each position. My suggestion is to do what I do, which is to wait for the league to announce the numbers and then just remember them. Trying to do the math yourself is too confusing.
MARK ALBAN FROM NEW YORK, NY:
Can the Steelers use the franchise tag on a player for three or more consecutive seasons, and if so, what would Le'Veon Bell's salary be if the tag were used on him in this manner?
ANSWER: Players can be tagged in successive years, but it's expensive. For a player to be tagged in back-to-back years, the team must pay 120 percent of the player's previous salary the second time the tag is used. If it's three-straight years, the team must pay the player 144 percent of his previous salary. So for simple arithmetic purposes, let
’s round off Le’Veon Bell’s 2017 salary at $12 million. Tagging him in 2018 would mean the number would be $14.4 million. Tagging him in 2019 would mean $20.74 million. CRAIG MAYLE FROM PROVO, UT:
My fiancé and I will be spending some time in Pittsburgh after our wedding, since it is my hometown. While we're home, we'll be able to go to a Steelers training camp practice. It starts at 2:55 p.m., but would you recommend we arrive
http://www.authenticcowboysstore.com/shop-by-players-cole-beasley-jersey-c-2_37.html earlier if it means we have a greater chance of meeting/getting an autograph from players? If so, how much earlier do you think?
ANSWER: I hesitate to give advice on something like this, because I would hate for you to listen to me and then be disappointed if things didn
’t work out as you had hoped. Generally, more players sign autographs after practice than before, but there is no way of predicting which players are going to sign on which day, and then whether that will be before or after practice. Personally, I never have understood the autograph phenomenon, and a day at training camp, for me anyway, would be about the chance to watch NFL athletes up close as they ply their trade and compete to earn a roster spot. But that’s just me, and it’s not meant as a criticism of you or anyone else whose day at camp would be made complete by leaving campus with some signatures. What I can tell you is that Coach Mike Tomlin signs autographs every day after practice, and he signs for anyone and everyone who is interested. That is something you can count on.STEVE OPRITZA FROM COLUMBUS, OH:
For my 70th birthday, my wife presented me with a replica No. 70 Steelers jersey with my name on the back. In checking the current roster, I do not see a No. 70, nor do I recall a player who wore that number. Is that number not assigned, or has it been retired?
ANSWER: No. 70 was worn by Ernie Stautner, who played 14 seasons for the Steelers
– and only missed one game – from 1950-63. A defensive tackle who was the team’s No. 2 pick in the 1950 NFL Draft, Stautner played his college football at Boston College. In the NFL, he was a voted to nine Pro Bowls and was named a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-1950s team. He was voted either first-team or Tim Brown Youth Jersey second-team All-Pro 25 times by the various entities that picked those things back in that era. His jersey was retired by the Steelers in 1964, and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969. Stautner died in February 2006 at the age of 80.
