Contemporary game-used football helmets are the black sheep of the present-day marketplace. Sightings are few and far between, especially for superstars in their prime. Le'Veon Bell is widely considered the NFL's best all-around running back. He plays for arguably the league's most storied franchise and perhaps its most collectible. And as he enters his sixth season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the 26-year-old is eager to prove just how important and valuable the game's most complete back truly is. Presented here is a unicorn when it comes to Bell memorabilia: one of his game-used helmets. Better yet, it's the one he wore all of 2016, including the postseason, 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.
The Steelers drafted Bell in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft, and the dynamic dual-threat back had an impressive rookie campaign before being named 1st Team All-Pro in 2014. 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, leading Pittsburgh to the AFC North title and proving he is the weapon Big Ben cannot thrive without. 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. 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 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—an understandable level of pounding taken by one of the league’s premier backs. 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 facemask shows many punctures and by all accounts is the original. 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, 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 to 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.