Antonio Brown Traded To Raiders

Antonio Brown got his wish. He’s out of Pittsburgh and headed to the Oakland Raiders. All the Steelers got in return for one of the best wide receivers in the NFL was a third and fifth round draft pick. Brown made a fiasco out of the situation in Pittsburgh to the point that no other NFL team wanted to make a deal for him. If his plan was to force his way out it worked like a charm. He even got a raise in the process–his new three year deal with Oakland is worth up to $54.125 million with $30.125 guaranteed. He had three years and $38.9 million left on his contract with Pittsburgh with none of that money guaranteed.

Brown’s agent Drew Roshenhaus said that his client is a ‘great fit’ for the Raiders and that the team’s iconic late owner Al Davis would have loved it:

“Jon Gruden, I believe, is a future Hall of Fame coach and one of the great offensive minds in football, and the Raiders have a fantastic franchise quarterback in Derek Carr, they have a great tradition, great fan base, moving to Las Vegas.”

“This is just a great fit for Antonio. He wanted a fresh start and certainly got an opportunity to go to a renowned franchise, one of the marquee franchises in the NFL, a historical team. I’m sure Al Davis would be very proud of this transaction.”

Asked to explain what went wrong with Brown’s relationship in Pittsburgh after nine successful seasons Rosenhaus didn’t really say anything new:

“Well, obviously things fell apart at the end of the season. Antonio wanted to play in the last game against the Bengals, it didn’t work out that way, there were a lot of things said that, really it was just a divorce. Antonio had nine great years. Sometimes in life, whether it’s sports or business, you have a great relationship, but things happen, and you have to move on.”

There’s absolutely no hard feelings [with the Steelers], and we spoke with the team last night once the trade was agreed to and wished them the best.”

His new head coach Jon Gruden praised Brown effusively before the Raiders hosted the Steelers last December:

“He can run every route you dream up. I say that about other receivers, but he can run double moves, he can run by you, he can run crossing routes, he’s very good after the catch. What’s the greatest thing about this man? I’ve told all our receivers, if you get a chance to watch him practice, you’ll see what unlocks the greatness in him.”

“He’s the hardest-working man, I think, in football. 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.

Adding insult to injury, the Steelers will have to eat $21.12 million in dead money against their salary cap–the largest such amount in NFL history.