Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 3-9-18

Sports
Steelers Place Franchise Tag On Le'Veon Bell For Second Year In Row
LEVEON BELL
The Pittsburgh Steelers of- ficially placed the exclusive franchise tag on running back- Le'Veon Bell for the second consecutive year on Tuesday, the last day for teams to use the designation.
The tag for Bell is worth $14.544 million for the 2018 season. The Steelers and Bell have until July 16 to agree to a multiyear contract or he will have to play the season on the franchise tag. The exclusive designation means that Bell is only permitted to negotiate with the Steelers.
Bucs Must Pay Jameis Winston
Dwyane Wade Visits
Site of Florida
School Shooting
Dwyane Wade, the adopted pride of South Florida, visited the Parkland, Fla., high school Wednesday where 17 students and faculty members were shot to death three weeks ago.
Wade, who was sent back to Miami at the NBA trade deadline, arrived at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High while students were eating lunch, addressed kids in a crowded hallway and took photos with teachers.
“I just wanted to come here today and hopefully for a moment, for a second, bring a little bit of this,” he said, as students cheered. “Bring a lit- tle excitement, bring a little joy. What you guys have been going through and how re- silient you have been has been amazing from afar.
“I just wanted to come and say I’m inspired by you. As someone out here in the pub- lic eye, I’m proud to say I’m from this state, because of you guys, because of the future of this world, because of you guys.”
Wade has become an in- creasingly vocal figure in the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day shooting after one of the students killed, Joaquin Oliver, was buried in Wade’s No. 3 jersey.
“You hurt for the family,” Wade told reporters when he found out. “It’s emotional
DWYANE WADE
even thinking about that, that his parents felt that burying him in my jersey is something that he wanted. I take a lot of pride in what I’ve done in this state and what I’ve meant for the youth, so I appreciate that.”
But Wade has long re- jected the “shut up and drib- ble” mold for professional athletes. After Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen, was shot and killed in 2012, Wade led Miami Heat teammates, including Le- Bron James and Chris Bosh, to pose standing in black hoodies, the type of shirt Martin was wearing when he was killed.
During his one season in Chicago, Wade spoke out about gang-related gun vio- lence. He threw support be- hind embattled NFL quarterback Colin Kaeper- nick as he went unsigned through the 2017 football sea- son.
With free agency ap- proaching (March 14), we're analyzing the quarterback po- sition on the Tampa Bay Buc- caneers.
It is about how much the Bucs are currently spending on quarterbacks, and how much they will be spending soon. Winston is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal. The Bucs will pick up his fifth-year option and work to- ward an extension that will pay him in excess of $100 mil- lion, the going rate for today's young quarterbacks.
The San Francisco 49ers awarded Jimmy Garop- polo a $137.5 million con- tract. The Detroit Lions gave Matthew Stafford a five- year deal worth $135 million. The Oakland Raiders gave
JAMEIS WINSTON
Derek Carr a five-year deal worth $125 million. All of those deals were signed in 2017. Even Blake Bortles, who is getting a bridge con- tract with the Jacksonville Jaguars for three years and $54 million, is still averaging $18 million a year. Keep in mind, wide receiver Mike Evans will be getting his deal done first.
The Steelers increased last year's long-term contract offer, but Bell adjusted his contractual floor to $14.5 mil- lion per year to align with his tag salary. He won't play for a contract that averages less an- nually, he said.
Patriots Won't Pick Up Option On Alan Branch, Will Keep Kenny Britt
ALAN BRANCH
The New England Patriots have informed veteran defen- sive tackle Alan Branch that they don't intend to pick up his $1 million option for the 2018 season, a source con- firmed.
Branch will become a free agent at the start of the 2018 league year on March 14.
The move was expected after Branch didn't play down the homestretch and in Super Bowl LII, and it will give the Patriots a savings of about $3 million on the salary cap. Accounting for the savings, the Patriots have between $17 million and $18 million in salary-cap space.
Eagles To Acquire
Michael Bennett From Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks are trading defensive end Michael Bennett and a sev- enth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for a fifth-round pick and wide re- ceiver Marcus Johnson, sources tell ESPN.
The Atlanta Falcons, New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buc- caneers were all in the mix to acquire Bennett, sources confirmed to ESPN.
MICHAEL BENNETT
Seahawks organization in an Instagram post Wednesday evening.
Bennett thanked the
Peyton Manning Sells
His Papa John’s Stores
Peyton Manning is no longer a Papa John’s Pizza franchise owner in Denver.
The company announced on Tuesday that Manning has sold his 31 franchises in the Denver area.
“After six successful and rewarding years, Peyton Manning and Papa John’s International have sold their stake in 31 Papa John’s loca- tions which were part of a joint-venture in the Denver Colorado market,” a spokesman for Papa John’s said in a statement, via Fox 31 KDVR in Denver.
PEYTON MANNING
Although he is no longer an owner of the franchises, Manning is still involved with the company as a spokesperson.
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