You can argue that Antonio Brown is the most valuable player on the Pittsburgh Steelers, so locking him up for the years to come is priority number one at the moment. With a franchise tag on Le’Veon Bell coming, Brown is the only Steeler that needs big-time money this offseason. In the past four years, there has not been a better receiver in the league and he is doing it without the physical gift of size. The only thing is that some have a problem with how Antonio has been “acting”. No matter what side of the argument you stand, one thing is for certain. The Steelers are ready to roll the dice on AB.
Following comes from Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Steelers and Antonio Brown have reached agreement on deal to make him highest paid WR in NFL, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2017
Antonio Brown deal: 4-year extension worth $68 million – 17M per year over 4 years, and $18.5M over 3 years. Tied to Steelers through 2021.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 27, 2017
Business is boomin’ indeed.
Brown likes to have fun- it’s really as simple as that. In the opening Monday night football game, AB had a little fun dancing when he got into the end zone. Antonio was fined and this continued to be a trend. While this isn’t a huge deal, because most likely there won’t be any damage done on a penalty that occurs on the kickoff, some teammates were upset that he would put them in a situation where it could potentially hurt them.
But where more people had the issues was when Antonio Brown was streaming a live video of the locker room during Tomlin’s speech after their AFC Divisional playoff game win in Kansas City. It looked like Brown couldn’t care less what Mike was talking about and it seemed like it was all about Antonio Brown time. With these couple things happening throughout the season, it appeared that possibly Antonio cared more about his brand than his team. During Super Bowl week, Brown was on the set of Fox Sports’ Undisputed, clarifying that he wouldn’t have a brand if it was not for the Steelers. It also later came out that Facebook was paying Brown to live stream after his games, so his motivation was found out.
Although these things might be a big problem in your head, a wide receiver being a diva isn’t anything new. Pittsburgh has a great chance at a trip to the Super Bowl in the next few seasons, but they will need Antonio Brown on the field.
Brown brings a certain dependability element that shows up with his consistency. In the past four years, he has caught 105+ balls and had over 1,200 yards at least. In those 4 years he has only missed one game and it was to rest up for the playoffs.
AB will be seeking to be the highest paid receiver in the league and he deserves it.
