AB to the Bills *Unconfirmed*

[kadun2]

Business is boomin!

[Bot101]

In his latest video where he said he will reveal his new team soon, AB said to now call him Mr Big Checks.

How about Mr Go Away? Thanks.

[Phaded]

In his latest video where he said he will reveal his new team soon, AB said to now call him Mr Big Checks.

How about Mr Go Away? Thanks.

There was a big thing that he never said "Mr Big Chest" and it was actually "Mr Big Checks".

[Bot101]

In his latest video where he said he will reveal his new team soon, AB said to now call him Mr Big Checks.

How about Mr Go Away? Thanks.

There was a big thing that he never said "Mr Big Chest" and it was actually "Mr Big Checks".

Eh maybe. I watched that video. He aimed the camera at his chest and made some self satisfied groan and then started saying, what sounded like, Mr Big Chest. I will not watch again to confirm. Im just tired of seeing his face and name plastered everywhere I look.

[twofirstnames]

One of the under-reported aspects of this whole Bills trade debacle is that the Steelers denied AB's agent permission to seek/discuss a trade with other teams (https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/1097895545715257345), reported on Feb 19.

This meant that if AB wanted to have any say in where he'd be traded, he had to be able to threaten a holdout/retirement. Sure enough, within a week AB did an interview with ESPN stating that he didn't need to play football - publicly signaling his willingness to hold out. He exercised that threat when the Steelers where ready to trade him to Buffalo, and it worked.

I don't understand why the Steelers wouldn't allow AB's agent to work on a trade. I have a hard time believing a multi-billion dollar sports franchise would stoop to personal pettiness, but everything I've seen increasingly points to this as a strong explanation. They've seemed more determined to send him to a bad situation than to a team that would actually net them the most compensation (the Redskins, Titans and Bills don't really made sense as teams that would be willing to offer the most for AB, but they do fit the mold as three of the worst situations for a receiver in the NFL).

And now Pittsburgh is sitting here with AB untraded after their own artificial deadline, and egg on their face from having their deal with Buffalo scuttled by a player who's now been revealed to have a lot more leverage than many thought just a couple of weeks ago. All the mess has almost certainly reduced Brown's trade value and cost the Steelers some compensation.

I have no idea how this is going to turn out (right now it's looking like the Raiders are the likely destination), but I feel very confident that if they'd allowed AB's camp to be involved in trade negotiations from the start that they'd have a deal already done and have gotten more back in return than what they'll eventually get.

[Ice]

Not Surprised at all the Steelers wouldn't want agents driving the trade ship. They are 100% focused on the player. The 2.5 million "rights" bonus is next to nothing by NFL standards. If Antonio doesn't report or holds out the Steelers can impose heavy fines and not pay him anyway.

Agents will say anything and Steelers lose some control over negotiations. In the NFL it is team that owns the Players rights, not the player or the agent. They don't want to chase down every rabbit hole the agent brings forth.

The Teams that want Antonio Brown have the Steelers number and the value and timing is controlled by the Steelers.

Once in a while you you will see a team give a player an opportunity to go get a better deal or seek out a trade. That is one reason they have RFA. The restricted part is trade compensation known up front with the team's right to match any deal made. With A. Brown, there are no such guarantees.

The bigger issue here is Brown is under contract. His defenders need to understand he simply wants out and doesn't want to play under what he agreed to in his contract. This is all about the money for Brown. He got his upfront cash on this contract and now wants more... He is 31 I think and this is the last year of his bonus dollars.

He can pull a Bell and sit out he will lose out 12.625 Million. The real story though is he signed a 4 year 68,000,000 million dollar contract with Millions and millions upfront. That contract averaged 17,000,000. over time. If you research it you will see just how much he got up front. He doesn't like the deal and wants more and it is Brown EXCLUSIVELY that is trying to get out of the contract.

The short answer is the Steelers want players to fulfill their end of contracts. Brown doesn't like his. The team is dealing with an entire roster of players and they won't or should not capitulate to an unhappy player that is making way more than most on the team.

Hard to take "Big Chest's" side on this. He is a "Greedy Diva" and is coming across as such which is why teams are not lining up to sign him. The Steelers Signed him and he is under contract through 2021. The other teams see it and know they have to give him a huge contract, once his bonus is paid, he will have a history of forcing his way out for more.....

That is the precedent the Steelers want no part of and will not help him exit in anyway for 2.5 million. The Steelers are living up to the contract is all that's really going on here.

[Jfever]

Well said ice. I appreaciate your rational explanation.

[twofirstnames]

Not Surprised at all the Steelers wouldn't want agents driving the trade ship. They are 100% focused on the player. The 2.5 million "rights" bonus is next to nothing by NFL standards. If Antonio doesn't report or holds out the Steelers can impose heavy fines and not pay him anyway.

Agents will say anything and Steelers lose some control over negotiations. In the NFL it is team that owns the Players rights, not the player or the agent. They don't want to chase down every rabbit hole the agent brings forth.

The Teams that want Antonio Brown have the Steelers number and the value and timing is controlled by the Steelers.

Once in a while you you will see a team give a player an opportunity to go get a better deal or seek out a trade. That is one reason they have RFA. The restricted part is trade compensation known up front with the team's right to match any deal made. With A. Brown, there are no such guarantees.

The bigger issue here is Brown is under contract. His defenders need to understand he simply wants out and doesn't want to play under what he agreed to in his contract. This is all about the money for Brown. He got his upfront cash on this contract and now wants more... He is 31 I think and this is the last year of his bonus dollars.

He can pull a Bell and sit out he will lose out 12.625 Million. The real story though is he signed a 4 year 68,000,000 million dollar contract with Millions and millions upfront. That contract averaged 17,000,000. over time. If you research it you will see just how much he got up front. He doesn't like the deal and wants more and it is Brown EXCLUSIVELY that is trying to get out of the contract.

The short answer is the Steelers want players to fulfill their end of contracts. Brown doesn't like his. The team is dealing with an entire roster of players and they won't or should not capitulate to an unhappy player that is making way more than most on the team.

Hard to take "Big Chest's" side on this. He is a "Greedy Diva" and is coming across as such which is why teams are not lining up to sign him. The Steelers Signed him and he is under contract through 2021. The other teams see it and know they have to give him a huge contract, once his bonus his paid, he will have a history of forcing his way out for more.....

That is the precedent the Steelers want no part of and will not help him exit in anyway for 2.5 million. The Steelers are living up to the contract is all that's really going on here.

I'm not defending Brown; I'm completely indifferent to Brown's actions, and I understand why a lot of fans would find his actions distasteful.

What I am doing is pointing out the Steelers organization almost certainly hurt themselves by refusing to allow AB's agent in on trade talks.

Of course the Steelers would want AB to fulfill his contract, but once it's clear that he's no longer going to do so it's in the Steelers' best interest to get the most compensation possible for him and move on. Well-run NFL franchises don't make emotionally-driven decisions.

The one good argument for punishing a player in a situation like this is it discourages other players from trying the same thing in the future. But if this was the Steelers' purpose in this instance, it completely backfired! Brown was revealed to have a ton of control since he can threaten a holdout. Sure the Steelers can turn around and suspend and fine him like crazy, but that just means they're getting zero compensation and creating an even bigger annoyance/distraction.

Like Brown or not, he has far more power in this situation than we're typically used to seeing players have. Pittsburgh either didn't realize this or didn't want to acknowledge it, which is why they're in the situation they're in now. What harm could have come from letting the agent be involved? I guess the agent could have told a team during negotiations that AB wouldn't want to play for them...that's exactly what happened anyways with the Bills but in a far more public and embarrassing fashion for both teams involved. How often in the NFL do we see a player unilaterally veto a trade?

Personally, I'm just fascinated by this whole situation and I hope more information comes out after the fact detailing the thought process behind each side's moves.

[Ice]

Agent to Jerry Jones: Hey Jerry you really need to sign Antonio.
Jerry: Really, what do the Steelers want..... Oh Wait, I will just call them instead of dealing with you.

Agent: Yea but he only wants a billion dollars
Jones: Really only a Billion.....That's not so bad but isn't he signed through 2021.
Agent yes but he won't play for that.
Jones, really, maybe I need to talk to the Steelers to see what I have to pay them for the right to sign to A. Brown for a Billion Dollars.

Agent well OK I guess I will call the Raiders.
Jerry: Good plan

Agents are a necessary evil when actually negotiating contracts but that's about it. Owners really don't like those guys. GM's probably like them less.

[James McGhee]

The short answer is the Steelers want players to fulfill their end of contracts. Brown doesn't like his. The team is dealing with an entire roster of players and they won't or should not capitulate to an unhappy player that is making way more than most on the team.

Hard to take "Big Chest's" side on this. He is a "Greedy Diva" and is coming across as such which is why teams are not lining up to sign him. The Steelers Signed him and he is under contract through 2021. The other teams see it and know they have to give him a huge contract, once his bonus is paid, he will have a history of forcing his way out for more.....

How many times does a team live up to their end of a contract? Almost never. They waive players all the time. No loyalty. But a player is supposed to be or we all rail on him. That's bullshit. AB is looking out for AB and that's fine. Steeler's have shown themselves to be an unloyal, bleep organization with the whole Bell saga of tagging their stud twice and offering no long term security. bleep them.

[FiremanEd]

Just to be clear, as much as I dislike the franchise tag concept for the players, it was agreed upon by the NFLPA. The Steelers also did offer Bell an alternate, longer term contract, which he rejected. Whether he should or should not have signed it is up for debate, but in the RB state of things, it was a lucrative offer (based on what was reported). The Steelers also have done right by Ryan Shazier. I think some of the statements made are out of context.

AB has a beef and Bell wants to be paid differently/more, but that’s not just on the Steelers. These are big egos as well. I’m sure it goes both ways to an extent to end up where we have. Neither side is angel material (as is the case for any business negotiation).

[Plank]

He's officially a Raider .. 3rd and 5th in 2019 ..

3 years, 50.125M, max value, 54.125M, with 30.125M guaranteed ..

[hockeyBjj]

AB to Raiders for a 3rd and a 5th lol. No one wanted his drama for talents it seemed

Will this one stay true tho I wonder?

[Plank]

Yeah, AB wants to go to the Raiders .. mentioned something about Black and gray, Carr is already tweeting, let's get to work ..

[jetsfan5757]

The short answer is the Steelers want players to fulfill their end of contracts. Brown doesn't like his. The team is dealing with an entire roster of players and they won't or should not capitulate to an unhappy player that is making way more than most on the team.

Hard to take "Big Chest's" side on this. He is a "Greedy Diva" and is coming across as such which is why teams are not lining up to sign him. The Steelers Signed him and he is under contract through 2021. The other teams see it and know they have to give him a huge contract, once his bonus is paid, he will have a history of forcing his way out for more.....

How many times does a team live up to their end of a contract? Almost never. They waive players all the time. No loyalty. But a player is supposed to be or we all rail on him. That's bullshit. AB is looking out for AB and that's fine. Steeler's have shown themselves to be an unloyal, bleep organization with the whole Bell saga of tagging their stud twice and offering no long term security. bleep them.

I hear you. I also feel for Pitt in this particular instance because they recently signed him to a decent deal and gave him lots of cash up front. He's bailing on that deal pretty early. Not like he has 1 year left...