By many measures, Antonio Brown was the best receiver in football last season. If recent reports are any indication, he wants the Pittsburgh Steelers to start paying him like it.
Continue for updates.
Brown Wants New Contract, Considering Holdout
Monday, April 20
Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 reported Brown does not plan on attending Steelers workouts until he has a new deal:
The NFL is currently in its voluntary offseason workout program, so the Steelers have no recourse at the moment. Pittsburgh can fine Brown $69,455 for skipping mandatory minicamp and up to $30,000 for each day of training camp he misses, per former sports agent Joel Corry of CBS Sports.
Bleacher Report NFL analyst Chris Simms weighed in on some of the notable players who could potentially hold out for a long-term deal. He discussed Brown at the 1:50 mark in the following video:
Brown is heading into the third year of a five-year, $41.96 million extension he signed in 2012. He is due a $6 million base salary and counts for $9.78 million against the Steelers' salary cap next season. Among wide receivers, his guaranteed remaining cash ($8.5 million) ranks 28th, on par with Seattle's Doug Baldwin and less than the likes of Chicago's Eddie Royal, Arizona's Michael Floyd and Cleveland's Dwayne Bowe.
Given his production in 2014, one can understand why Brown is looking for a raise. The Central Michigan product led the NFL in receptions (129) and receiving yards (1,698) while making his third Pro Bowl in the last four seasons. Football Outsiders' DYAR metric ranked him the best receiver in football, as did Pro Football Focus' overall grades.
That said, Brown will have to contend with the Steelers' long-standing status as one of the league's toughest contract negotiators. Few players in team history have held out and wound up landing the massive extension they were seeking.
We'll have to see if Brown is the exception to the rule.
Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter
All contract info via Spotrac
from Bleacher Report http://ift.tt/1Hov6Hx
via IFTTT April 20, 2015 at 08:18AM
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