No, no,, no. The NFL is contracting not expanding. They are looking towards Mexico, London, etc not so much as natural expansion but because their product is suffering. Shitty refs, flag football, CTE, and shitty product from lack of practices isn't suddenly going to change as the game continues to get worse. There is no advantage for players because the NFL knows this shit too. You can't ask for more when there is less on the table...not successfully. Especially since the PA doesn't have nearly the power you think they do. If they did, the franchise tag would have never occurred.
Bell gave up his season because he's a selfish fuck(no problem with that). He can try to find other reasons but he thought he was worth more than the Steelers did. The end. It's fine because he will make more money but he isn't some new standard. At the end of the day. someone will pay him a ridiculous amount, he will fuck their numbers for 3-5 years, and the final determination of that's team's playoff chances will revolve around cheap draft picks and the QB. Because RBs are a dime a dozen.