Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press Earl Thomas became the bad guy on Sunday afternoon. Thomas, future Hall of Famer, living Seahawks legend and the last surviving member of the Legion of Boom, fractured his leg in a dreary victory over the Cardinals after an offseason-long holdout and a month of skipping practices in pursuit of a trade. Leaving the field for the last time in a Seahawks uniform, he gave his own bench the middle finger in a classic wrestling heel turn. Just in case flipping the bird did not solidify Thomas' bad-boy status, the NFL's most notorious conscientious objector joined the conversation when Seahawks teammate Bobby Wagner expressed his support for Thomas on Instagram. Yes, that's the real Le'Veon Bell, volunteering to be "the 'bad guy' for ALL of us." Bell is the ultimate NFL bad guy, the holdout whose own teammates turned on him a few weeks ago, the running back who is sitting at home while his Steelers are reeling. According to ESPN reports, Bell plans to end his holdout and return to the Steelers during their Week 7 bye, which is a little like telling a starving man that you'll swing by with some sandwiches in about three weeks. Of course, you may consider Thomas and Bell the good guys, the ones fighting football tyranny for higher wages and greater control over their careers, even if that means turning their noses up at 10-figure salaries or putting off their return-to-work start date until the middle of leafing season. Video Play Button Videos you might like You're probably not in the mood for another lecture about labor relations and revenue percentages, or a plea to sympathize with the financial plights of football players making more money in a year than you will ever see, any more than you want to think about the impressionable children who saw their first middle finger on Sunday. Let's talk about business instead. NFL contract disputes are not pro wrestling. There are no good guys or bad guys, and they should not be thought of in terms of wins and losses. But there are good business practices and bad ones, and the Seahawks and Steelers have been very bad in the Thomas and Bell situations. When teams do business badly, everyone loses: the team, the player, the fans. The Seahawks should have seen Thomas' displeasure coming months ago. They traded away Richard Sherman and Michael Bennett, handed Kam Chancellor his gold retirement watch and plunged the franchise into a rebuilding phase. Did they really think Thomas would be happy as a one-year lame-duck leftover? Elaine Thompson/Associated Press Thomas isn't some like-it-or-lump-it workaday employee. He's as distinguished as veterans come in any type of organization, the kind of leader who deserves, if not preferential treatment, straight answers and the chance to voice his opinion. The Seahawks could have traded Thomas during the Legion of Boom purge, but they got finicky about the compensation. They insisted upon a second-round pick, per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter's reports, but not the Cowboys' second-round pick, because they didn't want to face Thomas in Week 3. (What does a rebuilding team care about one early-season game? Who knows?) The Seahawks have plenty of cap space in 2019 and 2020 and could have signed Thomas to an extension if they really valued him as a mentor and link to Super Bowls past. They may have gotten him to buy in to his new camp counselor role with a little bit of money and some honest communication. And when Thomas began skipping practice and showing up on Sundays, they could have benched him—not just to exert their authority, but to protect a potential trade commodity. The Seahawks did none of those things. Now they are without Thomas or the rebuilding blocks he could have fetched in a trade. And one of the greatest players in team history left the stage twirling his moustache like a comic book baddie. Speaking of teams that backed themselves into a corner, the Steelers cannot run the ball without Bell, and it's one of the things ruining their season. The Steelers rushed 11 times for 19 yards in their Sunday night loss to the Ravens. They rushed 13 times for 33 yards in their Week 2 loss to the Chiefs. Bell backup James Conner rushed for 135 yards in the season opener (plus a fourth-quarter fumble everyone pretended to not notice when writing "Le'Veon Who?" headlines) but has rushed for 97 yards and 3.03 yards per carry in three games since. Like the Seahawks, the Steelers are shopping their disgruntled superstar, but they appear to be asking for too much, too late. Having applied back-to-back franchise tags on Bell, the Steelers are now tangled in the red tape they used to snare him. The Week 7 report date likely ends the trade efforts: The Steelers will get 10 weeks of Bell and hope they aren't 1-4-1 when they start. The Steelers tried to sign Bell in the summer, floating some impressive-sounding contract offers in the media, but it wasn't enough. They could have removed the franchise tag, spent their $14.5 million elsewhere and moved on. They could have taken the temperature of their locker room, realized an every-man-for-himself vibe was brewing, and factored that into their decision. They could have done whatever the Giants and Rams did to smooth the Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald negotiations. (Talking to the players like adults apparently helped). Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Instead, the Steelers and Bell both dug in, and common sense flew out the window when Bell started sacrificing weekly game checks for a future payday that may never match the Steelers' summer offer. The Seahawks and Steelers thought they were making shrewd business decisions. The Steelers were using the franchise tag as a pay-as-you-go system at a position where players are worked hard and burn out young. The Seahawks mixed Moneyball with an old-school culture change when they traded away Thomas' often-prickly peers, though they chose for unclear reasons not to include him in the fire sale. But that pennywise approach to roster management backfired when the Seahawks and Steelers lost sight of the fact that players are people. Just because a contract gives an organization the leverage to do what it wants doesn't mean it's the wise thing to do. Hurt feelings and bad blood can be costly in ways that aren't worth it, especially when it comes to players like Thomas and Bell. Now the Seahawks are a mediocre team without its best defensive player, and both teammates and fans have a sour taste in their mouths. The Steelers left themselves with no real exit strategy from the Bell situation, allowing Bell to dictate the time and place of his return. Heck, even the Raiders managed to get high draft picks out of their Khalil Mack fiasco. The Seahawks and Steelers bungled so badly that they made Jon Gruden look smart. So vilify Bell if you like, pretend to be aghast that Thomas didn't act like Gandhi after breaking his leg, take a pro-player or pro-management stance and get more emotionally investment in financial squabbles than in the actual games. But if the Seahawks and Steelers handled their affairs properly, Thomas would have suited up for a contender this year, Bell would be thrilling us somewhere each Sunday as the NFL's highest-paid running back, both teams would either be better or better prepared to rebuild, and a fun NFL season would be just a little more fun. It's just good business sense. Nothing philosophical. And nothing personal. Mike Tanier covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeTanier.<doc-sep>Photo : Norm Hall ( Getty Images ) Seahawks safety Earl Thomas, who held out before the season because he wanted a long-term contract in case he was injured, and who “held in” and skipped practices for the same reason, broke his leg in Sunday’s game and now has one leg and no long-term contract. At least his middle finger still worked. Advertisement Thomas’s bird, which was directed at his own team’s sideline, was a natural reaction to being proven absolutely right at a devastating cost. Maybe it wasn’t just adrenaline, but spite fueling him in that moment. His fear had been that if he didn’t exercise his leverage in August, he would lose all of it next offseason, whether it might manifest as a franchise tag by the Seahawks or an unfavorable contract from another team. Thomas’s teammates didn’t hold his reaction against him. Receiver Doug Baldwin completely understood it. Via Gregg Bell of the Tacoma News Tribune: “This why (Thomas held out and wanted paid). I know surface-level thinking tells you that he’s making a lot of money. But relative to this game, relative to what this world entails, he is a Hall-of-Fame-caliber player. He is the best safety in the league. Just like any other profession, you want to be paid accordingly. Especially when you have such a high risk of getting injured, of having a severe injury like what happened today. “That is why he had to do what he had to do. It is heartbreaking for me because he goes out there and gives his all every day. He gave it all to his team once again. And unfortunately it didn’t work out this time.” Linebacker Bobby Wagner, who got into and then resolved a brief spat with his teammate last season: Defensive end Frank Clark: Advertisement This morning on a radio show, head coach Pete Carroll didn’t take the middle finger to heart: Advertisement Give him a new contract, too! No, seriously. Defensive backs around the league also empathized. In an instant, Thomas’s situation could be theirs: Advertisement The most significant reaction was that of Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, who has held out through all of the regular season because he wants a long-term deal instead of a one-year $14.5 million franchise tender. Playing a punishing position at age 26, he doesn’t want to end up like Thomas. “Get right bro bro,” Bell wrote on ESPN’s Instagram post. “I’ll continue to be the ‘bad guy’ for ALL of us.” Advertisement Bell and other holdouts in the past have been willing to forfeit game checks worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for this reason. It’s delayed gratification, the marshmallow test with something much more consequential than two fluffy pillows of sugar at stake. Thomas and other NFL players generate a lot of money for teams and the league. Only the best and luckiest players have long careers, and often times their jobs leave their bodies in such a state of disrepair that their post-football lives are filled with constant pain. If Le’Veon Bell returned to the Steelers, played on the franchise tag, and broke his leg, the team would be okay with letting him walk after the season—unless they could bring him back at a discount. You know, because he’d need to prove himself after his injury. Advertisement There is no good news in an almost-30-year-old football player on an expiring contract breaking his leg, but fortunately Thomas didn’t tear any ligaments. Assuming there are no setbacks, he should be fully recovered by the time free agency hits, just in time to get a diminished contract due to his injury. The last time Thomas broke his leg, he wanted to retire. Besides overcoming that mental hurdle, as well as months of rehab, and also a forced, long absence from the sport he plays to make money, he’ll be fine.<doc-sep>
As he was carted off the field in Arizona on Sunday, his lower left leg in an air cast to protect it after it was broken, Seattle Seahawks safety Earl Thomas raised his right arm and directed his middle finger toward the team’s sideline. Was it intended for coach Pete Carroll? General manager John Schneider? Both? Thomas hasn’t said, either to media or through social media. But his situation was the worst fear of every soon-to-be NFL free agent, played out in real time. And lots of players understand, especially one currently being vilified even by his own teammates. Earl Thomas got some support from fellow players, namely Le’Veon Bell and Bobby Wagner. (AP) ‘I’ll continue to be the ‘bad guy” ESPN posted the now-viral photo of Thomas, his lips pressed together, right hand up (his extended middle finger is blurred out), along with a quote from teammate Bobby Wagner on its Instagram account. And among the thousands of comments is one from the verified account of one Le’Veon Bell. “smh exactly…get right bro bro @earl! I’ll continue to be a the ‘bad guy’ for ALL of us,” Bell posted. Bell has yet to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team made him its franchise player for the second straight year rather than the two sides coming to an agreement on a long-term deal for the two-time All-Pro, and even though it’s costing him over $800,000 per week to stay home, Bell hasn’t shown a willingness to cave. Le’Veon Bell understands Earl Thomas’ frustration. (Instagram) While the franchise tag looks like a good deal on paper — a player is paid a fully guaranteed contract equal to the average of the five highest-paid players at his position — it’s only one year. If a player suffers a significant injury while on the franchise tag, his earning power the next year is severely impacted. Worst fears realized Bell understands exactly why Thomas reacted the way he did — Thomas asked for a contract extension or to be traded to a team who would pay him, and he got neither. After holding out throughout the offseason, Thomas reported to the team days before the season opener, and has been playing at his usual high level. Story continues Now, while it’s reported that Thomas’ fracture was a clean break with no ligament or additional damage and he should be healthy by the playoffs, there’s no way of knowing how much this injury will cost him once free agency begins. A six-time Pro Bowler and three-time, first-team All-Pro, Thomas won’t be 30 until May. Kansas City’s Eric Berry signed a six-year, $78 million deal in 2017 that included $40 million guaranteed, and Thomas likely would have garnered a deal that averaged $13 million per, even if it were for fewer years. Will he now? It’s not hard to understand that Bell knows the same thing could happen to him, and he hasn’t even gotten his first big deal yet — and for a running back, it could be the only big deal he gets. Thomas, at least, has gotten one big extension. Bobby Wagner: ‘If I was him, I’d be pissed off’ It isn’t just Bell who understands Thomas’ frustration. Bobby Wagner, who has played with Thomas for seven years, told reporters after Seattle’s last-second win over the Cardinals that Thomas was in a difficult situation. “We play a very, very emotional game, and I think sometimes you’ve got to let people have their emotions,” Wagner said. “That’s the crazy part of our business. If he doesn’t come, then he’s not a team player. If he does come and gets hurt, it’s he shouldn’t have came. It’s a position we get put in, often. It’s an unfortunate situation. “I think that’s why you have to be able to play football and handle the business side of the game. If I was him, I’d be pissed off. Pissed off that I got hurt, the way I got hurt, and especially because it’s the same injury [Thomas also broke his left leg in 2016].” Another Seahawks player who’s in line for a contract extension, defensive end Frank Clark, said, “Earl wanted an extension and at the end of the day he didn’t get that and it sucked.