He had a contract that guaranteed $0 on a team with a quarterback he was sick of.
And through being the worst teammate he possibly could have been, Antonio Brown got exactly what he wanted.
The superstar wide receiver threw a fit in a standoff with Ben Roethlisberger in the week leading up to a crucial Week 17 game, skipped meetings and walkthroughs and reportedly left that Sunday game at halftime when he wasn’t going to see the field. He then trashed Roethlisberger and seemingly everyone associated with Pittsburgh, making a return to the Steelers impossible.
It’s an unconventional route for a trade — damage your reputation so badly that your incumbent team loses all leverage. The headcase outweighed the brilliance to so many potential trade partners, and a player who should fetch at least a first-round pick could only bring back a third- and a fifth-round pick.
But that’s what the Raiders were willing to offer on Saturday; that and money. His pact with the Steelers only had theoretical millions remaining, while the new one he struck with Oakland guarantees him $30.125 million.
Now he’ll get to play with Derek Carr, who is not Roethlisberger but does have promise, on a Raiders team he seems to want to play for. Brown damaged his brand enough to get everything he desired, and left the Steelers with less than nothing.
Sure, the third and fifth will help. But the record $21.1 million dead salary-cap hit Pittsburgh absorbs is deadly, severely hampering their free-agent options. They couldn’t make him happy, and now they will literally pay the price.
The Raiders, too, are big winners here. Their top wide receiver last season was Jordy Nelson, who had just 63 catches for 739 yards.
Jon Gruden has always admired Brown from his time as a broadcaster and had nothing but praise for the receiver before the teams played last December.
“He’s the hardest working man, I think, in football,” Gruden said. “Hardest working player I’ve ever seen practice. I’ve seen Jerry Rice, I’ve seen a lot of good ones, but I put Antonio Brown at the top. If there are any young wideouts out there, I’d go watch him practice. You figure out yourself why he’s such a good player.”
–With AP
