Long before contract negotiations stalled the New York Giants with Saquon Barkley, Le'Veon Bell was the NFL's star running back who famously clashed with the team that drafted him over a contract extension. Ultimatley, the team's three-time Pro Bowler left the Pittsburgh Steelers during the same off-season that their star wide receiver, Antonio Brown, skipped town for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. Not only did the move break up one of the best offensive trios in football (Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le'Veon Bell), but it also caused fans to miss out on the final years of one of football's best rivalries: Pittsburgh Steelers vs. New England Patriots. Although his career as the team's primary ball career got off to an exceptional start in Pittsburgh, his play fizzled out just two years into his contract with the New York Jets. Bell never regained his form as an All-Pro, and today he's out of the league at the age of 31.
Bell recently took to social media to apologize to Pittsburgh Steelers fans for leaving the team in 2019. Although he didn't mention joining the NY Jets or the Steelers' most hated division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, later in his career, the Steelers 4th all-time leading rusher referred to the fanbase that cheered him on during the first five years of his NFL career as "the best fans in the world."
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Source: Instagram
