Contract restructure was easy as A-B for Steelers
Think that must’ve been a pretty happy charter flight to Charlotte on Wednesday afternoon?
Antonio Brown had about four million good reasons to smile and it wasn’t because he didn’t have to play in the Steelers’ fourth preseason game.
That’s the dollar amount that the Steelers have forwarded their All-Pro receiver for the 2016 season, the result of a contract restructuring which advanced some of his 2017 money to this year.
If this all sounds vaguely familiar, it should. It’s exactly what happened at this same time last year. The only difference then was that it was for just $2 million.
Clearly, the Steelers wanted to reward Brown for his performance both on and off the field. Oh, and for not staging a contract holdout. By restructuring Brown’s contract the Steelers save face by not extending a non-receiver with years still left on his contract. Brown’s current deal runs through 2017 but the Steelers will almost certainly look to work out a long-term deal with the 28-year-old after this upcoming season.
Brown will now be paid $10.25 million for this season, instead of $6.25. It’s still well short of the $15 million that Cincinnati’s A.J. Green will earn, but it puts the Steelers star in the top 12 highest-paid receivers.
The next time Brown puts pen to paper with the Steelers, rest assured, it will be for more than what the Bengals are paying Green.
Earlier this week, the Steelers restructured the deals of Mike Mitchell and Marcus Gilbert, presumably to accommodate Brown’s new deal. The Steelers are also likely to sign All-Pro guard David DeCastro to an extension between now and their Sept. 12 opener at Washington.