Late Saturday night, Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown broke the news of his own impending trade to the Oakland Raiders, with an Instagram post depicting him wearing that team’s iconic black and silver jersey.
The 30-year-old Brown, who is among the league’s top-tier wideouts—he led the NFL in receiving touchdowns last year—had been at odds with Steelers management for months and was looking for a exit scenario. His very public desire to leave eroded Pittsburgh’s leverage and explains why the team seems to have gotten little in return, reports ESPN.
In exchange for Brown, the Steelers received just one third and one fifth-round draft picks. In addition, the move forces Pittsburgh into an unprecedented case of financial wastefulness. “Because [Pittsburgh] used Brown’s deal to create more short-term cap space, they will owe $21.1 million in dead money on their cap for Brown this year, which is believed to be the largest single-season dead money total for a player in league history,” ESPN reports.
Oakland, on the other hand, looks like the big winner. After it dealt underperforming WR Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick, the Brown deal makes no doubt the team has seriously upgraded their offensive capability—and is poised to improve even more next month at the NFL Draft. And since the Raiders entered the off-season with $60 million in cap space, they could easily afford Brown’s new mega-contract. His three-year deal is reportedly worth $54.1 million with $30 million guaranteed, making Brown the highest paid WR in NFL history.
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