Disgruntled Le'Veon Bell unhappy about Steelers hitting him with franchise tag

Le'Veon Bell
Photo credit Philip G. Pavely/USA Today Sports

Take heart, Patriots fans. You're not the only ones having a rough offseason, between the Malcolm Butler fallout and Rob Gronkowski's potential retirement.

The Steelers are once again at odds with star running back Le'Veon Bell.

Pittsburgh on Monday hit Bell with the franchise tag for the second straight season, guaranteeing him a $14.5 million salary in 2018. Bell wants a long-term deal and on Tuesday took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction.

Bell quote-Tweeted @NFLResearch, which noted that Bell has averaged more yards per scrimmage (129.0) in his first five years than any player in NFL history.

"lol what more I gotta do to be wanted?" Bell wrote.

This sets up another potentially ugly offseason in Pittsburgh. Bell sat out training camp last year in the hopes of securing a long-term contract that never materialized. He didn't report until a week and a half before the start of the season, though it didn't stop him from another monster campaign that included 1,291 rushing yards and nearly 2,000 yards from scrimmage.

"We're not coming to a number we both agree on -- they are too low, or I guess they feel I'm too high," Bell told ESPN on Monday, per USA Today. "I'm playing for strictly my value to the team, that's what I'm asking. I don't think I should settle for anything less than what I'm valued at."