Meet Adisa Bakari, the agent who believes that Le’Veon Bell will sign for $17 million a year



… holdout may actually hurt his signing numbers

Adisa Bakari is not one of the marquee sports agents in the U.S. However, he has been one who is somewhat controversial right now in his quest to secure a $17 million a year contract for Steeler running back Le’Veon Bell.

Bell is the founder and CEO of TSGE (The Sports & Entertainment Group), a firm that represents current NFL football players and some boxers. Bell is the only very big name that Bakari represents, but he also has 42 other NFL players, according to his company’s website.

Included in that group are Tyrod Taylor, the current backup quarterback for the Cleveland Browns, and Matt Forte, a former running back for the Chicago Bears and New York Jets.

According to a story in Sporting News about Bakari and his agency, Bakari and Jeff Whitney have a background as executive compensation lawyers and litigators.

The story also notes that most of the NFL players that it represents come from historically black colleges and universities (HBCU). It notes that in 2016, that included “San Francisco 49ers safety Antoine Bethea, Dallas Cowboys linebackers Justin Durant and Deon King, Indianapolis Colts defensive end Kendall Langford and Detroit Lions safety Don Carey.”

Bell being hammered for failing to report

Whether or not Bell’s 2018 holdout — he has yet to report to the Steelers, who play their ninth game tomorrow night against the Carolina Panthers — pays dividends is anyone’s guess.

However, one former NFL GM and president does not think so. The Steelers offered Bell a one-year tender worth $14.544 million, but he has not reported and by the end of this week, he will have lost $7.7 million.

What kind of agent would allow his client to do so?

Former Titans president Jeff Diamond said that by not showing up thus far, Bell has hurt his chances of securing a great contract for next year. “Bell probably will not get the mammoth deal he expects when and if he hits free agency in March,” Diamond wrote in The Sporting News. “Teams will be wary of his selfishness, his injury history (11 games lost in his career) and his off-field issues (a DUI and marijuana possession case in 2015 that led to a two-game suspension, plus a substance-abuse violation that cost him three games in 2016).

“As a former NFL general manager, after all that has transpired with Bell, I know I would look elsewhere if I were seeking a free-agent back. I would be concerned about what happens once Bell gets a long-term deal. Will he be a player who refuses to play through minor aches and pains? Could coaches and teammates ever trust a player who has proved to be so self-absorbed?”

According to NFL.com, Bell and Bakari turned down an offer from the Steelers this summer that was for 5-years and $70 million, about $14 million a year. $33 million of that was guaranteed, they said.

Gurley contract

Whether or not Bell has listened to Bakari’s advice or has gone out on his own in this situation is anyone’s guess. Bakari reportedly is pointing to the deal signed by Rams running back Todd Gurley, who is making $14.375 million a year, according to Diamond. He said that $45 million of that is guaranteed.

However, Gurley does not have the baggage that Bell does. Still, Bakari believes that the Bell holdout gave Gurley the huge contract, the largest in the NFL right now.

Diamond does believe that Bell should report before next Tuesday’s deadline. “After so many miscalculations in this ill-conceived holdout, the worst move Bell could make at this juncture would be to not report to the Steelers at all. Beyond all the money he would give up over the rest of the season (another $6.844 million), he would further demonstrate to the rest of the NFL that his mindset is to avoid injury, which would make his market value decline even more,” he wrote.

Steelers do not want him

Who knows that the future will hold. The reality right now is that the Steelers do not need him or want him. Two linemen publicly criticized him after their win over the Browns on Sunday, and even Mike Tomlin made a snide comment about him.

Maybe Bakari will find a team that will pay him $17 mil a year, but he may be hard-pressed to discover anyone willing to give him a contract equal to that of Gurley.

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