The issue isn’t just what’s the net salary because interim injury can make make any discussions void.
If Earl Thomas has blown out his Achilles, he’d be done or at the very least no one would believe he could get a big deal.
So much of the offense in Pitt flowed through Bell that he has legit concerns he could get out healthy and see a long term deal.
So it's not possible to ignore the risk assessment. If Bell gets injured, sure, he gets all of the $14M, but maybe nothing else. If he sits, he's going to get at least double that in guaranteed money