Le'Veon Bell wants to be paid the same amount as Antonio Brown.

According to NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala, the Pittsburgh Steelers' All-Pro running back wants to be paid $17 million per year. That's what Brown is currently being paid (on average) per season after signing a four-year extension last offseason worth $68 million. Bell was franchised tagged earlier this month after he and the Steelers were unable to come to terms on a longterm deal. Pittsburgh has until July 16 to sign Bell to a multiyear deal before the start of the 2018 season.

"Everybody associated with this has said that the Steelers want to do a long-term deal," Kinkhabwala said from the owners meetings, via Ryan Wilson of CBS Sports. "In fact, I spoke to (head coach) Mike Tomlin earlier today and he said, 'Everybody knows we're in the business of trying to lock him up for the rest of his career.' However, as (general manager) Kevin Colbert ... told the local media, there's no urgency right now, and here's why: Le'Veon Bell wants $17 million a year.

"He wants to be paid exactly like Antonio Brown is paid. So the Steelers are saying, 'Well, we're going to wait a little while before we address that fully because clearly the Steelers don't feel that that's where Bell's value is."

Earlier this week, Steelers' General Manager Kevin Colbert added that Pittsburgh's goal of signing Bell to a longterm deal is still in tact while adding that the team will continue contract talks with Bell's representatives after the 2018 NFL Draft.

“I think so,” Colbert said when asked if he is confident that two sides can come together on a longterm deal. “I mean we are where we are,” he added. “We’re not intentionally ignoring that. It’s just that more urgent business needs to be taken care of, and again, we’ll reassess where that is. We’re going to reassess where his interests are as well. Again, I anticipate us continuing that process once it gets through the free agency period, and maybe even through the draft, because the draft can change things on both sides.”

Bell, who has previously rapped about wanting to make $15 million a season, has said that he simply wants to be valued for what he brings to the Steelers. Bell earned All-Pro honors in 2017 after amassing 1,944 all-purpose yards.

"Just get the numbers straight, exactly where we want them. I'm not going to settle for anything," Bell told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler in January. "I know what I do and what I bring to the table. I'm not going out here getting the ball 400 times if I'm not getting what I feel I'm valued at."