Antonio Brown may not have had a no-trade clause in his contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he still managed to eliminate potential suitors and end up in a place he wants to play.
The Oakland Raiders traded a third- and a fifth-round draft pick to the Steelers for Brown early Sunday morning. While that might seem like a bargain for one of the premier wide receivers in football, other teams actually offered more. However, Brown took those teams out of the running with his contract demands.
The trade compensation — a third and a fifth going to the #Steelers — wasn’t an issue. Several teams were willing to give that or more. The contract was the issue. In the end, Antonio Brown got his old deal ripped up and redone, a rarity. His demands limited the pool to 1 team.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 10, 2019
The Raiders gave Brown $30 million in new guaranteed money over the next three years, and the total value of his deal went from $39 million to $50 million. They were the only team willing to make that kind of financial commitment, and Brown likely just threatened to retire if the Steelers traded him to a team that wasn’t.
Brown has put the blame on others for the way his tenure in Pittsburgh ended, but he’s not going to win over any Steelers fans after the way he pushed the team around. Had he been willing to play for one of the other interested teams, Pittsburgh would have much more to show for the trade.
