To many of his peers and those who have lived through the perils of high-level football, Le'Veon Bell is an inspiration and a hero. To some teammates and many fans in the Steel City, he's a selfish bum. Whatever side you are on, we can all agree that the guy delivers on the field. In fact, to this day, no running back in NFL history averages more yards per game. And while he is almost surely done in Pittsburgh, the 26-year-old has plenty left in the tank wherever he ends up in 2019. Who knows, down the road he may be considered as important to the future of the NFL as Colin Kaepernick in standing up for players' rights, especially as the next CBA deadline approaches. Presented here is the helmet Bell wore for the entire 2016 season, including the playoffs, when he
broke multiple records. The battle-scarred helmet can be photo-matched
to every game and is sourced directly from the Steelers with team
certification.
In just 12 games in 2016, coming off injury and suspension, Le'Veon
rushed for 1,268 yards (105.7 ypg) and added 616 more through the air,
helping lead Pittsburgh to the AFC North title. The highlight of the regular season was
Week 14's snow-packed classic in Buffalo when Bell broke the Steelers'
single-game rushing record with 236 yards. He ran for three touchdowns
in the 27-20 road win and added 62 receiving yards to finish just two
shy of 300 total yards from scrimmage. He continued his torrid stretch with back-to-back
playoff outbursts of 167 and 170 rushing yards, propelling his team to
wins over Miami and K.C. In each game Bell set and reset the franchise 's
playoff rushing mark. Moreover, no player in NFL history has ever rushed
for more yards (337) in his first two career playoff games. He did all
that wearing this very helmet—his first gamer offered publicly.
The black shell of the Riddell helmet
exhibits plenty of scrapes, paint transfers and other contact marks. A large Steelers logo decal adorns the right side with Bell’s No.
“26” decals on the forehead and rear, flanking the gold stripe that
runs the entire length of the shell. A rubber “Steelers” label appears
over the forehead obscuring the manufacturer. The NFL shield and USA
flag decals along with the warning sticker are affixed to the rear. On
the interior is the Riddell patent manufacturing sticker dated
“FEB-2016” by the left earhole with a decal on the opposite side reading
“Initial Season 2016 – Maximum life 10 years with annual
recertification.” Just below is the Steelers Authentic Memorabilia
hologram sticker (GU-105659). Two warning labels and two size Large
stickers are also found inside. An unmarked rubber neck pad and a
customized black gel-padded cushioning in the ceiling are both present.
The exterior design of the shell with
six air ventilation holes (in addition to earholes), along with the
protective Plexiglas visor, matches perfectly to game photos of Bell
throughout the season. The original facemask shows many punctures. Even the well-used pink mouthpiece appears to
be match. The only component of this helmet that changed during the
course of the season was the chinstrap. Le’Veon used a different one up
until Week 15 at Cincy before switching to the one present. He used this
featured mouthpiece, with a custom black and white cushioning and an
internal blue gel pad, in the final two regular season contests as well as
all three playoff games in January 2017. There is no need for a third
party photo-match; the game images available speak for themselves. The
accumulation of wear is easily identifiable from the beginning of the
2016 season. Furthermore, we know from past dealings that Steelers game
equipment, especially helmets, are often used by players for the entire
length of the season due to a rather frugal budget compared with other
teams.
Included with two Steelers Authentic
Memorabilia COA's are the two military decals that Bell affixed to the
back of his helmet (along with his Steelers teammates) throughout
November 2016 for NFL's Salute to Service month. These games include
11/6 at Baltimore, 11/13 vs. Dallas, 11/20 at Cleveland and 11/24 at
Indy. Bell chose to honor the U.S. Air Force with its blue circular
sticker. The Salute to Service camouflage ribbon decal appeared on the
back of every player's helmet for the entire month.