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Antonio Brown to holdout?

Tough. Let him hold out. I know NFL contracts are one-sided but it's not like he only has a year left. He shouldn't have signed a 6 year contract in the first place then.

"Mr. Brown, there is a Mr. Mike Merriweather on line one and a Mr. Frank O'Harris on line two."
 
Bigappleyinzer said:
They would cut you but most places would still pay some sort of disability. Going back to your example- what happens if you became the best at whatever it is you do? Would you not ask for a raise? If you didn't get it- would you just sit there and accept your fate? Would you say "This IS the salary I agreed on"?

At any point- an NFL can cut a player. No questions asked. They do not have to be held accountable.

Antonio Brown is arguably the best WR in the NFL. He has been our best most consistent player for the last 2 years. You think its unfair for him to want to be payed market value?
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He also can insure himself against injury. Look at what Finley the TE from the packers did. If he is worried about injury and that's why he wants more money, take out some insurance.

It depends. If I was a contracted 1099 employee and were being paid for a set period of time there would be nothing I could do. If I signed up as an independent contractor for 4 years at x amount a year and I was out performing my pay I would be out of luck because I signed a contract. If I broke the contract likely I would be sued on a no compete clause if I tried to earn a living in the same field.

Now as an "at-will" employee I can be let go or I can leave "at will" with no obligation from either parties. Brown is a contracted player and as such can hold out because unlike most 1099 contracted employees he makes millions and can afford to. But what I am saying is the rest of us can't.

Yes, I think he signed his contract with NO ABSOLUTELY NO guarantee he would be the player he is today. IN FACT he UNDER performed in 2012 with less than 800 yards receiving. Did he give the Steelers any money back for that year? NO. He has had two very good seasons out of three contracted years. I could see the Steelers upping his deal a little early but not until there's one year left in the deal. Otherwise trade his *** to the phins and he can see what happens when you leave a team with a hall of fame QB giving you the ball.
 
My number one pet peeve. They gave him a very fair contract. It could have easily gone the other way an been a Cortez Allan. I agree he has outperformed it but was he going to give the money back if he underperformed.
 
Ron Burgundy said:
Tough. Let him hold out. I know NFL contracts are one-sided but it's not like he only has a year left. He shouldn't have signed a 6 year contract in the first place then.

"Mr. Brown, there is a Mr. Mike Merriweather on line one and a Mr. Frank O'Harris on line two."
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He wanted the security of the big money long term. Now he wants to be paid for his performance. I like the guy but there is only a few circumstances where I agree with a holdout. This isn't one.
 
hes out perming his deal, pay him, Ben has a good bond with him as a #1 and he he has been around Ben since the beginning so they have great chemistry, it's the best we keep Brown till Ben retires or Bryant/Wheaton raise their play big time.
 
These are AB's salary payments over the rest of his scheduled contract:

2015 $6M
2016 $8.25M
2017 $8.7M

His prorated signing bonus amount per year is about $3.78M so his cap hits are:
2015 $9.7875M
2016 $12.0375M
2017 $10.7975M (for some reason his prorated is being listed as $2M for this year)

He's making fair money and his salary is increasing each year. His cap hits are significant, so unless the team gets a benefit from redoing those cap numbers, a new deal will not be made.
 
Then again, it's a voluntary work out. How many of those did Polamalu attend?
 
I totally understand what AB is trying to do BUT the reality is that he has overperformed in the absence of a reliable #1 or #2 target the past 2 years.

In 2012, he was behind Heath in yards (816 to 787) and Wallace in targets (119-106) and yards (836-787) with Sanders and Cotch as #3 and #4s

In 2013 he broke out with 1499 rec.yds. while the #2 (Sanders) and #3 (Cotch) only started in 16 games combined yet collected 1342 yards. AB had 110 receptions while the other 2 had 113.

In 2014 he continued to be a primary target and had a career high of 181 targets followed by Heath's 91. of course he had a career high in production as his #2 (Wheaton) and #3 (Bryant) had 134 targets between them.

With the prospect of Bryant now commanding the #2 spot, there is NO WAY AB sees 181 targets ever again and thusly his production will decline with it. This IS his last opportunity to ask for a commensurate contract BEFORE this happens.

AB will IMO, never again have the number of targets he got last year...AND HE KNOWS IT. He will likely go back to 2011 stats (120+ targets) when we had a legit #1 and #2 with he and Wallace and Cotch/Sanders making up the other 70 or so targets.

If I am the Steelers, I let him do his thing this year and see where he fairs in the NFL higharchy in Yds and TDs. He's going to lose some to Bryant and maybe Wallace or a draft pick. He won't be in the same position next year to demand top 5 money because he'd be lucky to be in the top 10-15, IMO.

AB has taken advantage of a lack of known talent at the WR position as well as Heath's recovery from ACL injury which inflated his targets. Now he won't have that advantage as Heath is healthy again and Bryant looks to get alot more targets as a #2.

His agent's know this too. Thus the move now to 'try' to squeeze some contract value out of his past production while being the 'lone ranger' at #1 on this team.
 
BTW, Brown led the NFL in receptions last year LARGELY because he was a close #2 in targets. Demarious Thomas had 2 more than AB.

Why did Emanuel Sanders have a career year? His targets nearly doubled w Denver at 141 for the year!
 
thesteelcity said:
The only thing I don't like about this situation is other young guys like Bell and Bryant could follow suit. This is putting the Steelers in an awkward situation. I think it would be better served if AB and his agent talked to the FO during the voluntary workouts. It's like he is playing hardball before he needs to.
For the record, I could care or less how much the Rooneys pony up to retain their stars. It's their money and they can spend it anyway they wish, but I don't want to hear that they can't sign Player A or B because we gave AB more money on top of his current deal because he wasn't happy with the contract he signed three years ago. Especially, a position of need to make the team better. Other than that, pay what he is worth. He is a damn fine WR.
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Exactly. Someone needs to explain to AB that there is this little thing called the salary cap and there is only so much money to go around.
 
SteelerSask said:
My number one pet peeve. They gave him a very fair contract. It could have easily gone the other way an been a Cortez Allan. I agree he has outperformed it but was he going to give the money back if he underperformed.
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And if it had gone the other way (Cortez Allen), many here would have been calling for him to be released (as they are with Cortez). He's at worst the #2 or #3 WR in the league and he's being paid as if he's the 14th best. Pay the man a little more like they did with Hines and move on before it becomes a distraction.

Also, for those stating that he should have let the Steelers know about his salary concerns before missing "VOLUNTARY" workouts, how do you know he didn't? Btw, these are "VOLUNTARY" workouts. You know, the ones Troy missed for years without anyone complaining. So, even if he didn't notify the Steelers well before taking this stance (something I just can't see happening), I'd say the best time to take a small stand is during "VOLUNTARY" workouts. It's not as if he has missed "MANDATORY" workouts or training camp and created a major distraction. In fact, the timing gives all parties time to try to come to some type of agreement before **** gets ugly.
 
Well, if it's true, all I can say is, "Bye, Bye Brown." Sucks that greed got the best of you. The Steelers have never opened up for a WR with the lone exception being Hines and those were different circumstances. I'd be completely stunned if the Steelers give him a new deal already. Odds are they'd a work a draft day deal with somebody which, given the amount of help they need on D, probably wouldn't be a bad thing.
 
SteelBuckeye said:
And if it had gone the other way (Cortez Allen), many here would have been calling for him to be released (as they are with Cortez). He's at worst the #2 or #3 WR in the league and he's being paid as if he's the 14th best. Pay the man a little more like they did with Hines and move on before it becomes a distraction.

Also, for those stating that he should have let the Steelers know about his salary concerns before missing "VOLUNTARY" workouts, how do you know he didn't? Btw, these are "VOLUNTARY" workouts. You know, the ones Troy missed for years without anyone complaining. So, even if he didn't notify the Steelers well before taking this stance (something I just can't see happening), I'd say the best time to take a small stand is during "VOLUNTARY" workouts. It's not as if he has missed "MANDATORY" workouts or training camp and created a major distraction. In fact, the timing gives all parties time to try to come to some type of agreement before **** gets ugly.
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Half of this board was willing to cut Cortez after ONE year of a 5 year contract.

These same posters now want AB, after 3 years of All pro play, to 'honor his contract''?

Its silly.
 
keslerclan said:
I totally understand what AB is trying to do BUT the reality is that he has overperformed in the absence of a reliable #1 or #2 target the past 2 years.

In 2012, he was behind Heath in yards (816 to 787) and Wallace in targets (119-106) and yards (836-787) with Sanders and Cotch as #3 and #4s

In 2013 he broke out with 1499 rec.yds. while the #2 (Sanders) and #3 (Cotch) only started in 16 games combined yet collected 1342 yards. AB had 110 receptions while the other 2 had 113.

In 2014 he continued to be a primary target and had a career high of 181 targets followed by Heath's 91. of course he had a career high in production as his #2 (Wheaton) and #3 (Bryant) had 134 targets between them.

With the prospect of Bryant now commanding the #2 spot, there is NO WAY AB sees 181 targets ever again and thusly his production will decline with it. This IS his last opportunity to ask for a commensurate contract BEFORE this happens.

AB will IMO, never again have the number of targets he got last year...AND HE KNOWS IT. He will likely go back to 2011 stats (120+ targets) when we had a legit #1 and #2 with he and Wallace and Cotch/Sanders making up the other 70 or so targets.

If I am the Steelers, I let him do his thing this year and see where he fairs in the NFL higharchy in Yds and TDs. He's going to lose some to Bryant and maybe Wallace or a draft pick. He won't be in the same position next year to demand top 5 money because he'd be lucky to be in the top 10-15, IMO.

AB has taken advantage of a lack of known talent at the WR position as well as Heath's recovery from ACL injury which inflated his targets. Now he won't have that advantage as Heath is healthy again and Bryant looks to get alot more targets as a #2.

His agent's know this too. Thus the move now to 'try' to squeeze some contract value out of his past production while being the 'lone ranger' at #1 on this team.
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I think the AB situation could be satisfied by giving him more guaranteed money. He currently sits at #14 in avg pay (which is about where he'll end up this year in rec.yds. IMO but he is only guaranteed 20.3% or 1.7 million per year which is about half of what the top 30 WR are guaranteed right now.

Like I said, he and his agent know that he will likely never come close to 180 targets again and his production will go down now that we have some viable #2 and #3 targets. Give him some guaranteed $ and call it a day.
 
SteelBuckeye said:
And if it had gone the other way (Cortez Allen), many here would have been calling for him to be released (as they are with Cortez). He's at worst the #2 or #3 WR in the league and he's being paid as if he's the 14th best. Pay the man a little more like they did with Hines and move on before it becomes a distraction.

Also, for those stating that he should have let the Steelers know about his salary concerns before missing "VOLUNTARY" workouts, how do you know he didn't? Btw, these are "VOLUNTARY" workouts. You know, the ones Troy missed for years without anyone complaining. So, even if he didn't notify the Steelers well before taking this stance (something I just can't see happening), I'd say the best time to take a small stand is during "VOLUNTARY" workouts. It's not as if he has missed "MANDATORY" workouts or training camp and created a major distraction. In fact, the timing gives all parties time to try to come to some type of agreement before **** gets ugly.
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Close thread!!!!
 
I see many want to trade him to a crappy team, "to teach him a lesson". The Steelers cut Blount, "to teach him a lesson". Yet I heard much crying on this board after the consequences of cutting Blount became apparent after Bell got hurt. The folks calling for him to be traded would be the same ones telling us how horrible Mike Tomlin, and Kevin Colbert are after the team goes 8-8 (or worse) without AB. AB has some leverage, and he's using it. When Deebo didn't have much leverage two years ago, he ended up getting kicked to the curb, and played for peanuts last year. I'm sure the other players noticed. The players try to get the most they can, while the teams try to pay the least they can, and I'm not mad at either side. When Woodley didn't play up to his contract, the team had no problem showing him the door, well before the contract was up.
 
Bigappleyinzer said:
Why does AB NEED to honor his contract? Did the Steelers honor the contract with Lamar Woodley, or did they cut his fat ***?

He is a 1st team All-Pro that is only 26 and getting paid in line with Torrey Smith. Does that sound fair to you?

I swear some of you think that you are own the Rooney's will
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Sorry but your logic just makes you sound illogical. He just signed a GREAT contract for him. He was paid more than he was worth at the time. He should be grateful. At the time, he was not a No. 1 WR but got paid No. 1 WR money and is still in the top half of all No. 1 WR pay. You are clueless.
 
If they could get a No. 1 in the top 10 this year and a No. 3, or better, I might pull that trigger. Take a WR with either the No. 1 pick or No. 22 pick and take the best CB or OLB with the other.
 
No 1 on the team money is something totally different then no 1 WR in the whole league money.
 
TDX27 said:
Sorry but your logic just makes you sound illogical. He just signed a GREAT contract for him. He was paid more than he was worth at the time. He should be grateful. At the time, he was not a No. 1 WR but got paid No. 1 WR money and is still in the top half of all No. 1 WR pay. You are clueless.
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Personal attacks against someone for posting his opinion are unnecessary and illogical. If you disagree with someone's post/opinion, I'm sure you could do so in a manner more befitting someone of your obvious intelligence. (I am not being sarcastic. I've seen many examples of your posts that show you to be a better person than this).

That said, he signed the ONLY contract available to him at that time. Was it a GREAT contract? Probably for the AB that was a known commodity at that time. Is it still a GREAT contract? Probably not. I have no problem with him missing voluntary workouts as a way to express his desire for a redone contract. If it extends to mandatory workouts and/or training camp, then he will have caused a distraction worthy of the ire he seems to be getting from some quarters.

Do I believe that he eventually gets more money? I think it's possible. He won't get $16M, or even $12M, but maybe they work out something to put him in the top 10 of WR salaries. Which isn't that far off from where he's at now. I don't think it will be a new contract, but rather an extension.

Now, if he's asking for too much money ... all bets are off as to what they can/will do with him.
 
I wouldn't have a problem extending his contract or reworking it (if I were the owner), but the problem is THE WAY HE'S GONE ABOUT IT (if this is even true). Now, AB has put the front office in a situation where the CAN'T and SHOULD NOT redo the contract. If they do, they are setting a precedent that if you ***** about your current contract and threaten to hold out, you'll get more $$$. He should have gone to them privately and asked for a raise.
 
oicu8ad said:
I wouldn't have a problem extending his contract or reworking it (if I were the owner), but the problem is THE WAY HE'S GONE ABOUT IT (if this is even true). Now, AB has put the front office in a situation where the CAN'T and SHOULD NOT redo the contract. If they do, they are setting a precedent that if you ***** about your current contract and threaten to hold out, you'll get more $$$. He should have gone to them privately and asked for a raise.
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Again, how do we know that he didn't attempt that first? There's no indication that he didn't.
 
He may have which is maybe why the team has been bringing in certain WRs who carry 1st and second round grades
 
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