Antonio Brown emerges from the Heinz Field tunnel for the playoff game vs. Baltimore. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Antonio Brown didn’t show for the opening of the Steelers’ voluntary workouts this morning on the South Side, and he might not show for quite a while if his existing contract isn’t redone, according to multiple media reports headed by Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports.
I’d like not to believe this.
I’d like not to have it so much as breach my brain that Brown could be so hypocritical that he’d attempt an act this hollow when he isn’t even halfway through the five-year, $42 million extension he happily signed just two years ago.
I’d like not to, but what’s the option?
Brown won’t talk about this today and, in fact, we might not hear from him any sooner than we see him. That’s how these holdouts tend to work. Agents advise their clients to lay low. And Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is the very best in his business, better known than most of his clients.
But that’s OK, you know, because here’s what Brown already has had plenty to say about his existing contract, if one can turn the calendar way, way back to, oh, July 28, 2012, and a press conference at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe:
• “It’s special. With a unique organization such as the Steelers, knowing I’m going to be around here for the long term is something amazing and really special. It’s something I take pride in, and I know that it’s a tremendous honor.”
• “It provides me with some security and allows me to play football and focus on winning games.”
• “What I do realize is that I’ve been given a great opportunity to be around an organization that is really special. I’m really honored and thankful about that. All I can do now is work to give them my best as long as I’m here.”
This is where this column could end, in all candor. A signed contract is a signed contract. Kevin Colbert signed it for the Steelers. And Brown signed it, with the enthusiastic backing of Rosenhaus.
That’s how this works.
Sure, the NFL is different than the other three major professional sports in that it doesn’t guarantee contracts. That gives teams more leverage and, both theoretically and in reality, allows them to reduce the amount paid to a player who under-performs. It isn’t always fair, in this context alone.
That said, Brown’s case is anything but Exhibit A. Or X, Y or Z, for that matter.
The Steelers have gone above and beyond where he’s concerned from day he was drafted in the sixth round out of Central Michigan, undersized at 5 feet 10 and mostly raw. They gave him a shot when everyone else passed more than a handful of times. They hooked him up with an elite quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. That “great opportunity” Brown cited in that 2012 press conference was very real.
And it became that much greater with the extension itself because, with that stroke of the pen, Colbert and Mike Tomlin made what a lot of folks felt was a bold if not dubious decision in choosing to invest in Brown rather than big-play man Mike Wallace. Wallace was fresh off a season in which he caught a career-high 72 passes for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns. He was only 26. He was seen as one of the top stretch-the-field receivers in the game.
Brown?
He’d only made three career starts to that point.
The Steelers chose Brown and let Wallace walk, and no one needs to be told that was maybe the smartest single personnel move of the Colbert/Tomlin tenure, even topping the drafting of Le’Veon Bell. And not just because Wallace’s career has been a dumpster fire since departing.
Colbert and Tomlin had Brown’s back. And now, apparently, he’s ready to turn his back on them.
That’s too bad. Really is.
In addition to being a brilliant receiver, the very best in the league in 2014 and on pace to be the very best in a franchise lore that already boasts Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Louis Lipps and Hines Ward, Brown exceeds all superlatives when it comes to his work ethic, dedication and leadership. In practice, he puts his fellow receivers through every rigor he himself endures. That’s why that group is invariably last off the field. In games, even on plays when he knows the ball isn’t headed his way, he commits to every route and sprints out every step. And on a personal level, I rank Brown among my absolutely favorites with any local sports team. He’s a gem in every way.
If he’s getting bad advice, he needs to rise above. The Steelers aren’t about to set any precedent for restructuring contracts, not for Brown, not for Rosenhaus, not for anyone. If it didn’t work for the iconic Ward — he crawled back to Latrobe after a 15-day holdout in 2005 — it won’t work for anyone. The Rooneys still run the place, last I checked.
If he’s being told bad information, he needs to do his own math. He’ll make $6 million this season, $8.25 million in 2016, $8.71 million in 2017, all non-guaranteed. That’s unquestionably below his performance level. But the fact is, not many NFL receivers are getting a ton more, unless one counts the $12.82 million deals Deymarius Thomas and Dez Bryant are about to get on franchise tags, which are almost always outside the norm. And, of course, the chief outlier in Calvin Johnson’s $16.2 million.
And if Brown thought of this himself … well, he needs to rethink this particular route. And recommit.
April 20, 2015
Column: AB’s holdout threat hypocritical, hollow
139by Dejan Kovacevic • Columns • Tags: Steelers
Antonio Brown emerges from the Heinz Field tunnel for the playoff game vs. Baltimore. — GETTY
BY DEJAN KOVACEVIC
Antonio Brown didn’t show for the opening of the Steelers’ voluntary workouts this morning on the South Side, and he might not show for quite a while if his existing contract isn’t redone, according to multiple media reports headed by Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports.
I’d like not to believe this.
I’d like not to have it so much as breach my brain that Brown could be so hypocritical that he’d attempt an act this hollow when he isn’t even halfway through the five-year, $42 million extension he happily signed just two years ago.
I’d like not to, but what’s the option?
Brown won’t talk about this today and, in fact, we might not hear from him any sooner than we see him. That’s how these holdouts tend to work. Agents advise their clients to lay low. And Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is the very best in his business, better known than most of his clients.
But that’s OK, you know, because here’s what Brown already has had plenty to say about his existing contract, if one can turn the calendar way, way back to, oh, July 28, 2012, and a press conference at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe:
• “It’s special. With a unique organization such as the Steelers, knowing I’m going to be around here for the long term is something amazing and really special. It’s something I take pride in, and I know that it’s a tremendous honor.”
• “It provides me with some security and allows me to play football and focus on winning games.”
• “What I do realize is that I’ve been given a great opportunity to be around an organization that is really special. I’m really honored and thankful about that. All I can do now is work to give them my best as long as I’m here.”
This is where this column could end, in all candor. A signed contract is a signed contract. Kevin Colbert signed it for the Steelers. And Brown signed it, with the enthusiastic backing of Rosenhaus.
That’s how this works.
Sure, the NFL is different than the other three major professional sports in that it doesn’t guarantee contracts. That gives teams more leverage and, both theoretically and in reality, allows them to reduce the amount paid to a player who under-performs. It isn’t always fair, in this context alone.
That said, Brown’s case is anything but Exhibit A. Or X, Y or Z, for that matter.
The Steelers have gone above and beyond where he’s concerned from day he was drafted in the sixth round out of Central Michigan, undersized at 5 feet 10 and mostly raw. They gave him a shot when everyone else passed more than a handful of times. They hooked him up with an elite quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger. That “great opportunity” Brown cited in that 2012 press conference was very real.
And it became that much greater with the extension itself because, with that stroke of the pen, Colbert and Mike Tomlin made what a lot of folks felt was a bold if not dubious decision in choosing to invest in Brown rather than big-play man Mike Wallace. Wallace was fresh off a season in which he caught a career-high 72 passes for 1,193 yards and eight touchdowns. He was only 26. He was seen as one of the top stretch-the-field receivers in the game.
Brown?
He’d only made three career starts to that point.
The Steelers chose Brown and let Wallace walk, and no one needs to be told that was maybe the smartest single personnel move of the Colbert/Tomlin tenure, even topping the drafting of Le’Veon Bell. And not just because Wallace’s career has been a dumpster fire since departing.
Colbert and Tomlin had Brown’s back. And now, apparently, he’s ready to turn his back on them.
That’s too bad. Really is.
In addition to being a brilliant receiver, the very best in the league in 2014 and on pace to be the very best in a franchise lore that already boasts Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Louis Lipps and Hines Ward, Brown exceeds all superlatives when it comes to his work ethic, dedication and leadership. In practice, he puts his fellow receivers through every rigor he himself endures. That’s why that group is invariably last off the field. In games, even on plays when he knows the ball isn’t headed his way, he commits to every route and sprints out every step. And on a personal level, I rank Brown among my absolutely favorites with any local sports team. He’s a gem in every way.
If he’s getting bad advice, he needs to rise above. The Steelers aren’t about to set any precedent for restructuring contracts, not for Brown, not for Rosenhaus, not for anyone. If it didn’t work for the iconic Ward — he crawled back to Latrobe after a 15-day holdout in 2005 — it won’t work for anyone. The Rooneys still run the place, last I checked.
If he’s being told bad information, he needs to do his own math. He’ll make $6 million this season, $8.25 million in 2016, $8.71 million in 2017, all non-guaranteed. That’s unquestionably below his performance level. But the fact is, not many NFL receivers are getting a ton more, unless one counts the $12.82 million deals Deymarius Thomas and Dez Bryant are about to get on franchise tags, which are almost always outside the norm. And, of course, the chief outlier in Calvin Johnson’s $16.2 million.
And if Brown thought of this himself … well, he needs to rethink this particular route. And recommit.
Share this: