The former Pittsburgh Steelers star signed a four-year, $52.5 million contract, including $25 million guaranteed at signing.
"I don't regret anything that had happened," Bell said on the conference call with reporters. "Everything's happened for a reason. Who can say that if I played last year, you know, if I do go out and play last year on a one-year franchise tag, if I do get hurt, do I end up sitting in this position today, being with the New York Jets on a beautiful deal?"
Bell also suggested a heavy workload with the Steelers might have hurt his market value, saying, "Who's to say a team would take me after 400 carries?"
He wouldn't have faced that situation if he had accepted the Steelers' long-term offer, a reported $70 million over five years. That proposal included $33 million in the first two years and $20.5 million guaranteed in the first year.
A review of Bell's contract with the Jets shows he'll be making less money than what he could have had in Pittsburgh. He will make $14.5 million in the first year, including an $8 million signing bonus. His two-year payout is $26 million. The three-year payout is $39.5 million, $5.5 million shy of what he would've made with the Steelers.
