Antonio Brown to holdout?

[thesteelcity]

every player can get hurt, it's part of the risk. It's not like he is not getting his guaranteed money, either. He's not broke and is getting paid very well. Sure, extend him for a few years and compensate the man for his performance. He should handle this in a more profession manner with his employer.

 

[FordFairLane]

Again with this false logic.

What happens if Brown tore an achilles and never panned out? Would the Steeler's or any NFL team 'honor' his contract? Would they wait to cut him until there was only 1 year left? No- they would cut his *** with the quickness and not pay him. Simple as that.

Brown is a hard worker who has out played his contract. Explain to me how that makes you a Diva? Pay him more, but tack on more years.

I really don't see your logic? If I went blind I could no longer do my job so my place of employment would not keep me. It's life. You get the big bonus check and that you get to keep if you get injured. As the contract goes your pay increases but you have to be able to play to the ability of the pay in order to stay on the team. If you think you are going to outplay the contract you should only sign one year deals. Problem is these athletes want that big guarantee so they sign multi year deals. Can't have it both ways. He got his bonus money now honor your deal.

 

[oicu8ad]

Dam it. I thought maybe he was growing up and might become a team leader, but I guess that young money **** is still in his blood.

He is one of my favorite current Steelers, but this is just **** on his part.

 

[Bigappleyinzer]

I really don't see your logic? If I went blind I could no longer do my job so my place of employment would not keep me. It's life. You get the big bonus check and that you get to keep if you get injured. As the contract goes your pay increases but you have to be able to play to the ability of the pay in order to stay on the team. If you think you are going to outplay the contract you should only sign one year deals. Problem is these athletes want that big guarantee so they sign multi year deals. Can't have it both ways. He got his bonus money now honor your deal.

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?

 

[bigben]

Brown has the Rooneys by the balls, and he knows it, everyone knows it.
Pay him. They have no choice.
Could you imagine the shitstorm in the locker room if they didn't pay him??
If Bell has another season anywhere close to last season, he'll be next.
This isn't your grandfathers nfl.

 

[TDX27]

AB signed a deal that was VERY GOOD for him, at the time. He was being paid No. 1 WR money and he hadn't been a No. 1 WR. There is no problem with the contract he signed. Sure, you could argue he is worth more now but he signed a contract and has 3 years left. And, he is still making good money. He has a contract and needs to honor it. I can see them giving him another deal but not with 3 years left on his current deal. With this new diva attitude, I can also see them trading him for some very good draft picks. I think AB is great and wouldn't want to lose him but I guess business is business and he is showing that by holding out with 3 years left on his contract. And, he may just get traded and it could happen in this years draft. They could trade him for someone's No. 1 this year and at least another No. 2 or 3 pick. I'm not sure how much he'd be worth but it would be at least one No. 1 and more.

 

[mdk2]

Trade him for a 1st and 3rd, I like AB but I hate selfish players. He's making good money now. Either man up and play your contract out or see ya. Trade him to Oakland for their 1st round pick and draft Cooper.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

So Woodley's getting over 8.5 and AB is getting just over 9.7? Yeah, I'd want some guarantees in that contract as well. Add a couple of years to the end and about 10m bonus and some incentives to put him in the 11 range with the guarantees a player of his caliber should have. Get paid brother, if in need of a new agent to get it done get one cause a player needs guaranteed money since ownership is not made to honor contracts.

 

[Fiji Mariner]

I've never payed a dime to watch owners. The players make the game by creating the excitement, the commish tries to ruin the game and the owners sit back and get rich from the risk and toil of the players. I would scarcely claim a person trying to earn market value as greedy or selfish, owners a whole other story.

 

[6Rings]

Steelers could deal him in the draft and get an extra pick, or picks...

 

[Bigappleyinzer]

AB signed a deal that was VERY GOOD for him, at the time. He was being paid No. 1 WR money and he hadn't been a No. 1 WR. There is no problem with the contract he signed. Sure, you could argue he is worth more now but he signed a contract and has 3 years left. And, he is still making good money. He has a contract and needs to honor it. I can see them giving him another deal but not with 3 years left on his current deal. With this new diva attitude, I can also see them trading him for some very good draft picks. I think AB is great and wouldn't want to lose him but I guess business is business and he is showing that by holding out with 3 years left on his contract. And, he may just get traded and it could happen in this years draft. They could trade him for someone's No. 1 this year and at least another No. 2 or 3 pick. I'm not sure how much he'd be worth but it would be at least one No. 1 and more.

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

 

[bigben]

Chest up
Eyes up
Prayed up
PAY UP!

 

[Wingman]

Again with this false logic.

What happens if Brown tore an achilles and never panned out? Would the Steeler's or any NFL team 'honor' his contract? Would they wait to cut him until there was only 1 year left? No- they would cut his *** with the quickness and not pay him. Simple as that.

Brown is a hard worker who has out played his contract. Explain to me how that makes you a Diva? Pay him more, but tack on more years.

As to what would happen, look back to that linebacker that was kept on the team for several seasons while he healed. At one point he was not expected to be able to walk normally. Sounds like your simple as that is not so simple. The kids name was Sean Spence in case you forgot.

As to Antonio he has out played his contract so far. Not saying he was poorly compensated but he has been a good player the entire time he was here and has been continually improving. This maybe nothing more than a negotiation ploy by his agent. I have not looked at the salaries of other wide outs but suspect they are paid more than Antonio and less productive. By comparison Jason Worilds was paid 9 million last year for production that was no where near as important to the team or anywhere close to the best in the league.

I can understand these guys wanting to make the best of their productive years salary wise as most of them at best have 10 or 12 years to earn most all the money they will make for the rest of their lives. They also run the risk of never being able to play or do anything again.

The Steelers have a couple of options one of which is very time sensitive.

Trade to another team for their top picks for maybe 2 years or more if they can get it as well as players. Maybe a top left tackle, and a number one pick or more depending on what the market will yield.

Let him hold out and force him to honor his contract.

Extend his contract and run the risk of doing the same thing in a few years.

Do a completely new contract.

The first thing I would do at this point is see what offers are available for trade and not be quiet about it. It would send a message to the player and his agent. Imagine how well he will do in Cleveland or Oakland or Buffalo or Arizona for example. That would allow the trade option to be done prior to the draft and the draft to be used to fill in some spots. Also if the trade option is not used it may allow this situation to be taken care of prior to the draft.

 

[Omar10213245]

He isnt getting traded this offseason. Lets just get that out of the way right now..

 

[Bigappleyinzer]

As to what would happen, look back to that linebacker that was kept on the team for several seasons while he healed. At one point he was not expected to be able to walk normally. Sounds like your simple as that is not so simple. The kids name was Sean Spence in case you forgot.

As to Antonio he has out played his contract so far. Not saying he was poorly compensated but he has been a good player the entire time he was here and has been continually improving. This maybe nothing more than a negotiation ploy by his agent. I have not looked at the salaries of other wide outs but suspect they are paid more than Antonio and less productive. By comparison Jason Worilds was paid 9 million last year for production that was no where near as important to the team or anywhere close to the best in the league.

I can understand these guys wanting to make the best of their productive years salary wise as most of them at best have 10 or 12 years to earn most all the money they will make for the rest of their lives. They also run the risk of never being able to play or do anything again.

The Steelers have a couple of options one of which is very time sensitive.

Trade to another team for their top picks for maybe 2 years or more if they can get it as well as players. Maybe a top left tackle, and a number one pick or more depending on what the market will yield.

Let him hold out and force him to honor his contract.

Extend his contract and run the risk of doing the same thing in a few years.

Do a completely new contract.

The first thing I would do at this point is see what offers are available for trade and not be quiet about it. It would send a message to the player and his agent. Imagine how well he will do in Cleveland or Oakland or Buffalo or Arizona for example. That would allow the trade option to be done prior to the draft and the draft to be used to fill in some spots. Also if the trade option is not used it may allow this situation to be taken care of prior to the draft.

I agree with your points-

I just don't think you can trade an all-pro talent whose arrow is pointing up. Especially one that is a hard worker, and that the other players can feed off of his work ethic. And also since it already takes a while for Ben to build a chemistry with a WR.

I extend him out until he is well into his 30's- make him a Steeler for life. If he has the balls to hold out again- then I maybe see a Diva attitude and look to trade.

 

[insaniti]

You guys are hilarious. Talking about trading him, calling him selfish, calling him a diva... How about we interject some FACTS. His contract is the 14th highest WR contract in the league. He is in the conversation of BEST WR in the league, and AT THE VERY LEAST top 5.

So lets take a look at the list of WR's making more than AB.

1. Calvin Johnson
2. Dez Bryant (tagged)
3. Demaryius Thomas (tagged)
4. Mike Wallace
5. Vincent Jackson
6. Larry Fitzgerald
7. Jeremy Maclin
8. Brandon Marshall
9. Randal Cobb
10. Jordy Nelson
11. Greg Jennings
12. Victor Cruz
13. Pierre Garcon

Quick, tell me which of these WR's are absolutely without a doubt, better than AB. Brown has outperformed his contract by a HUGE margin. People keep saying he signed a pretty good contract before, but they don't look at the guaranteed numbers, Browns numbers are the LOWEST guaranteed numbers on that list. In fact, of the top 30 WR contracts, Browns 20% guaranteed is the LOWEST of all. Brown is underpaid not just in total contract worth, but guaranteed numbers. Only one player caught more passes than Brown did last year in a single season.

You can look at next years cap figures, and his final three years and think (that's pretty good), but look at the first three years, he only made $3.7m last year (only 4.6, against the cap). I'm with Brown on this one...pay the man!

 

[antdrewjosh]

He was paid as a no 1 wr on the Steelers. He is performing as the No 1 WR in the league. Pay him. He works hard and relentlessly to get better. Pay him. You can't get Bentley production and want to pay Kia prices. Pay him.

 

[thesteelcity]

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.

 

[6Rings]

When I say trade him, I am saying this because of the way the Steelers operate. He will be a distraction this year, and the Steelers will not give him a new contract. There is nothing hilarious about suggesting that he be traded. AB started this whole process off wrong. The Steelers will not be held hostage. All the players you just named making more than him, means nothing to the Steelers..I say pay him btw...

 

[steelhurt]

Again with this false logic.

What happens if Brown tore an achilles and never panned out? Would the Steeler's or any NFL team 'honor' his contract? Would they wait to cut him until there was only 1 year left? No- they would cut his *** with the quickness and not pay him. Simple as that.

Brown is a hard worker who has out played his contract. Explain to me how that makes you a Diva? Pay him more, but tack on more years.

False logic! Are you crazy man? This guy has played three years into a 6 year contract. Received a large signing bonus so he's already made millions. If his career suddenly ended today he SHOULD be set for life if he's managed his affairs. Now, lets say out of that 48 million dollar contract he's made with signing bonus half of that 48 million. You mean to tell me that making 24 million in three years you shouldn't be set for life. This kid is getting bad advice from that agent whom I believe is Drew Rosenhaus. The Steelers will not tear up this contract and re-do it. What the hell kind off message does that send to the other guys on the team. He should have never signed a six year deal to begin with.

No, what needs to happen here is he needs to come to his senses and report when he's supposed to report and play the 2015 season. Three years left on a contract is too early to re-do the deal. After 2015 if he plays as well as he did in 2014 then I'm sure he and the Steelers can renegotiate the deal but right now is too early. Renegotiating after this season especially if he has another good season would not only benefit him but the team as well.

 

[FSF]

So three years into a deal...that he agreed on...he wants more $$$. Screw these high priced *******. If you agree to a contract...honor it!!! Period

The door swings both ways, if Brown is to honor his contract, then the Steelers should honor all their deals -- do they?

C'mon now. You know that NFL team hardly honor contracts themselves. Hell, non-guaranteed contracts in itself is a joke. Wanting your current value isn't Diva- its smart.

How many times have we seen teams basically force players to take paycuts, or cut them well before their contracts expire? .

Lamar Woodley should still be a Steeler OLB under that logic -- Troy just signed a 3 year extension after the 2013 season when he was named to the Pro Bowl -- he was asked to retire because they were going to release him regardless. Greg Lloyd was let go after his ACL and Staph infection after signing an extension. Ike Taylor and James Harrison were asked to take pay cuts. Taylor did, Harrison didn't and realized it was a mistake (on both sides). If not mistaken, former multi time 1000 yard RBs Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall were sent off into the sunset released before their deals were done.

this sucks. I know he deserves more money but the Steelers also made a leap of faith when they gave him that contract

They made a leap of faith to Mike Wallace with the same contract first and he turned it down. At the time it was a great deal for Brown, who maybe hadn't earned that extension quite yet.

I will say that with 3 years left on a deal; Brown has outplayed his contract and quite frankly; if he doesn't say a word the Steelers wouldn't magically just offer him more money. For what it is worth -- I held a few years back where I wasn't getting paid the salary that I really was earning -- especially after so many of the ideas I implemented resulted in increased revenue and I did say something, but hardly dug my heels in about it.. My "stand" got me a new "job title" -- but no raise. In looking back, if I really quantified my numbers to show how much I had improved revenue stream -- I've often wondered how much I would have been paid more and the way things would have worked out for me better since then.

If Brown believes strongly enough that he's underpaid for what he's doing, then he should make his case and stand for it. If he does it right, it will work out just fine, might get ugly for a bit, but it will work out. After all, he's not the only Steeler who wanted to re-do a deal -- we just don't see it so often since FA and the way the CBA works, but back in the day there also used to be a LOT of hold outs; it was the only leverage a player had.

• Jack Lambert did it in 1977 (those of you who are old enough, am I wrong that he missed regular season games); they eventually worked it out
• Mike Merriweather did it in 1988 -- he NEVER did report but really despite his Pro Bowls, he was a one year wonder in 1984 and never came close; he was traded
• Barry Foster did it in 1993 -- just after signing a new deal prior to his 1690 yard (still owning the Steelers single season record in 1992) and they worked out a new deal
• Tommy Maddox did it when he was outperforming Kordell by light years and was paid the salary of a 3rd string QB.
• Hines Ward did it after being vastly underpaid for 3 years in 2005 -- thanks to a private meeting between Dan Rooney and the Bus -- they worked it out.

The irony here:

• Ever notice how the players of the 1970s all have love for the Chief Art Rooney, but you've never heard any of them express that love to Dan Rooney?
• What about the players of the 1990's, do you ever hear of Rod Woodson, Greg Lloyd, Levon Kirkland, Carnell Lake etc. express affection for Dan Rooney?
• Yet the players of the 2000's all love Dan Rooney. Jerome wanted a private meeting with him to tell him he was retiring before announcing it. Troy wanted to talk to Dan Rooney first before Wextell reported it at Troy's request. How many of the 2/3 time Super Bowl championships have expressed affection for Dan Rooney?

Maybe not so ironic: Dan Rooney was the team President, He was the guy who ultimately said yes or no on the contracts, etc. The 70s team dealt with Dan for business and Art was Chairman of the Board, allowing his son to run the team and enabled him to be more like their friend. Now history repeats itself as Dan is the Chairman of the Board and Art Rooney II is the President who is the "boss". Call me crazy, but as long as Dan is around to bridge the gap, things like this will most likely work out.

 

[F83]

re work his deal, put in better roster bonus, i.e 200 K for over 90 catches 250 , for 1200+ 75 K for 5 + TD
raise this years base salary to 8 mill, next year and the remaining years are top 10 WR money, so that should shut him up for now, he is just to key to our offence when we have the cash pay him we are not the brook team playing at a small multi purpose stadium, with Heinz going to close to 70,000 seats there is a ton of more money that will come in not to mention how much extra cash the 33 jerseys are bringing in.

3 targets now before camp starts
1 re do brown's deal
2 extend Heyward
3 pick up a few good cheap vets on D, 6/1 cuts

next year before fa extend DeCastro

 

[F83]

instead of cutiing Woodley we should of had him take a pay cut and gone from there, instead of being left will the dead money on the ledger

 

[Wingman]

I don't think many of you were following my original post. I listed the options available, all of them. The trade option is only of value if the team can get someone to over pay for Brown. He is a fantastic talent no question. He will also reach a time when he is no longer on the team. The only way the trade option would be viable would be if the Steelers have the option to get more than they lost. Imagine this years and next years number one pick from a team. A team that might be in the top ten for the next year as well as this year. What you would be trading would be the chance to rebuild your team in the next 2 years with 4 first round picks and what ever others you have. That is an option worth considering. You also need to consider the position you are paying as well and how much of the offense Antonio really is. One example to consider is how did the team do with out Bell in the playoffs? We still had Brown and Ben but did not win the game.

So is it possible to put together a better team with out him and with what could be had by trade? Also, if this is not done do you want to renegotiate with every productive player on the team when they have a season that out plays their contract? Is the LaMar Woodley deal that still has money on the books that far from every ones mind? The smart thing is to consider all the options available and make the best choice for the team. Mike Walace left and did not seem to be missed and he was a good player as well, not as good as Brown but still good.

The other thing gained by the trade option is the fact that it sends a message to players that the steelers will not have terms dictated to them by players. There is also the chance that their career and salary could take a huge hit in the future based on where they end up.

 

[antdrewjosh]

The smart thing to do would be pay him like he is producing. Cut corners somewhere else. Not at guys who are producing at a level that is the best at their position.