Le'Veon Bell isn't going to get $14 million per season in a longterm deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That's according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who addressed Bell's contract situation earlier this week. Bell, who has opted not to publicly address his current contract situation, reportedly won't accept less than $14.5 million per season in a longterm contract. Bell rejected Pittsburgh's longterm offer last year that would have paid him an average of $13.3 million per season. This spring, Bell rejected an offer that was reportedly more lucrative than last year's offer.

"He's not getting a new offer if he wants at least $14 million a year," Dulac wrote. 'He's not even getting that."

While we don't know the Steelers' specific motives behind it's thinking, Dulac made his thoughts on Bell and his impact on Pittsburgh's offense clear. In short, Dulac doesn't think Bell is worth $14 million a season.

"Look, running backs like [Ezekiel] Elliott make a young QB like Dak Prescott better," he wrote. "Todd Gurley makes a young QB like Jared Goff better. Same with Leonard Fournette and Blake Bortles. But Le'Veon Bell does not make Ben Roethlisberger better. Ben and [Antonio Brown] make Bell better, and he wasn't even 'better' last season. I could find 10 RB's to put back there and the Steelers chances of going to the Super Bowl would be no different."

While Dulac doesn't think Bell helps him, Roethlisberger has previously gone out of his way to detail Bell's importance to him in the passing game. Specifically, Big Ben praised Bell following his 12-catch, 88-yard effort in Pittsburgh's Week 12 victory over Green Bay last season. Bell also rushed for 95 yards on 20 carries the Steelers' 31-28 victory.

"I honestly thought Le’Veon was the MVP of the passing game," Roethlisberger said of Bell during his weekly talk show on 93.7 The Fan. "There were a lot of plays in those game where the linebackers were trying to get depth underneath. The first thing he does is check protection, he has to check two or three guys sometimes. Then, he has to get out into his route. For him, there’s a lot more involved than just running a route and turning around. I just thought his performance in the passing game was exceptional."

Bell's contributions in the passing game is what really separates him from the rest of the NFL's running backs. He caught 83 passes in 2004, 75 passes in 12 games in 2016 and 85 passes in 2017, as Bell finished second on the team in receptions in each of those seasons.

While one doesn't need to think that Bell is worth $14 million a season, not to give Bell his due as a special back who has carved out his place as one of the best players in the game today isn't just inaccurate, it's just plain wrong. Sure, there are other versatile backs in the NFL, but there's a reason why, whenever the conversation of the league's best back comes up, the conversation usually ends with Bell's name at the top of any list.