Steelers & Raiders fans! Miss Antonio Brown? Patriots fans! Glad you have him?

[Franisdaman]

Antonio Brown signed a 3 year, $50,125,000 contract with the Oakland Raiders (for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons), including:

* a $1,000,000 signing bonus

* $30,125,000 guaranteed

* an average annual salary of $16,708,333.

In 2019, Brown will earn a base salary of $14,625,000 and a signing bonus of $1,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $14,958,333 and a dead cap value of $30,125,000.


In case you missed all the drama surrounding Brown:

* The NFL has a new helmet this season. It is a safer helmet. It is endorsed by the NFL Players Assn. Only one player insists on wearing his old helmet. Antonio Brown.

* He goes to France for cryotherapy. He did not use the proper footwear during the treatment, resulting in frostbite and severe blisters. This foot issue has kept Brown off the field during training camp. Cryotherapy is used to relieve muscle pain, sprains and swelling after soft tissue damage or surgery and ranges from using ice packs to cold chamber.

As of Aug 7, per CBSsports.com, there is no timetable to Brown's return to the field. The Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and quarterback Derek Carr say they do not know when the WR will return to the field. The four-time first-team All-Pro entered camp on the non-football injury list and has seen a specialist for his feet.

* "The diva wide receiver" (one ESPN analyst called him that) arrived to Oakland's training camp in a hot air balloon. WTH?


Watch this ESPN video discussing the drama:




Those blistered feet:

 

[bdg8]

Would be shocked if he ever again puts up numbers like he once did.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

Terrell Owens just tweeted that Brown is being unreasonable.

 

[Franisdaman]

I updated the orig post with his contract #s:

Antonio Brown signed a 3 year, $50,125,000 contract with the Oakland Raiders (for the 2019, 2020 and 2021 seasons), including:

* a $1,000,000 signing bonus

* $30,125,000 guaranteed

* an average annual salary of $16,708,333.

In 2019, Brown will earn a base salary of $14,625,000 and a signing bonus of $1,000,000, while carrying a cap hit of $14,958,333 and a dead cap value of $30,125,000.

 

[Rudolph]

There must be some good Twitter comments about those feet. Holy shit those feet.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

It’s situations like these where I would be in total favor of owners/ teams colluding against players as many feel has occurred with Kaepernick.

I’m paying you $50 million and you don’t want to show up? Don’t want to wear your helmet? Can’t participate per your contract. Fine. We will put you on the double secret blacklist. You’ll never play another down again.

Of course you’d have to get Kraft and Jones to sign on.

 

[Franisdaman]

After 2 week absense, Brown expected at Raiders camp today, Tues Aug 13

Wide receiver Antonio Brown will be at the Oakland Raiders' facility in Napa, California, on Tuesday, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Brown has not been with the Raiders since being limited in a practice and leaving early on July 30.

He posted on social media Monday that he was looking forward to rejoining his teammates on the field after he lost a grievance against the NFL over wearing his old helmet.

On Friday, Brown had a two-hour conference call with an independent arbitrator to argue why he should be allowed to wear his older helmet -- a 10-year-old Schutt Air Advantage model -- which he is thought to have been using his entire career. Brown's specific helmet is over 10 years old and the model is no longer made by the company, so it is not currently certified by the National Operating Committee for Standards and Athletic Equipment.

Brown has tried out the new certified helmet and believes it protrudes and interferes with his vision as he tries to catch the football. He also argued that his helmet made him feel safe.

The wide receiver is looking into whether he could find a version of his preferred-style helmet that is less than 10 years old to see whether that would be acceptable, a source told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. It is not clear whether, if Brown could even find one and get it certified by NOCSAE, the NFL would sign off on it because the technology is outdated.

Brown, acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers in March and promptly given a three-year, $50.125 million contract, had reportedly threatened to retire if he was not allowed to wear his helmet.

Brown has also been dealing with frostbitten feet suffered in a cryotherapy mishap in France last month.

ESPN's Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.

 

[millah_22]

Would be shocked if he ever again puts up numbers like he once did.

In the last episode of Hard Knocks when he was running he was still the best player on the field.

 

[sober_teacher]

In the last episode of Hard Knocks when he was running he was still the best player on the field.

Well, he's joining the Raiders who are back to ground-level, so it's not like there's an abundance of talent there - will see how the rookie class develops.

Bottom-line, the guy is 31 years old. I still think he'll be good, but it's more reasonable to expect some regression going forward, especially when he's not playing with as good a supporting cast as he had in Pittsburgh.

If he doesn't produce at an All-Pro level consistently, even Gruden will get tired of his shenanigans very quickly.

 

[jasonrann]

I am a Steelers fan and I am SO glad he is gone. He is an absolute bitch. If he isn't the center of attention, he isn't happy. He'll fit in nicely with the Raiders. I give it to around the point where they are 2-5 and he isn't catching enough passes before he's in the QB's face on the sidelines.

 

[Franisdaman]

I am a Steelers fan and I am SO glad he is gone. He is an absolute bitch. If he isn't the center of attention, he isn't happy. He'll fit in nicely with the Raiders. I give it to around the point where they are 2-5 and he isn't catching enough passes before he's in the QB's face on the sidelines.

i am not surprised the Steelers got rid of him; they don't put up w/ that crap (regardless of your talent)

and that's a LOT of money for a DRAMA QUEEN

 

[Franisdaman]

Sources: Raiders to suspend Antonio Brown after tiff with GM

• 
  
  Paul GutierrezESPN Staff Writer

11:42 am CT
Sep 5, 2019

Antonio Brown and Raiders general manager Mike Mayock got into a heated exchange Wednesday, Sep 4, and the team is now planning to suspend its star wide receiver, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The length of the suspension was not immediately known, as the Raiders are still weighing their options, sources tell Schefter.

There are some within the Raiders that want the organization to move on from the mercurial Brown, according to Schefter, and sources around the league believe that the team could suspend him with the idea of trying to void the $30.125 million guaranteed in his contract.

The confrontation, according to Schefter, stemmed from Brown's Instagram post Wednesday when he displayed a letter from Mayock that detailed about $54,000 in fines for missing time during training camp.

A source tells ESPN's Josina Anderson that Brown and Mayock got into the argument during Wednesday's practice in front of the team.

Mayock told reporters that Brown was not at the facility Thursday and would not be practicing. He did not confirm or deny that Brown will be suspended.

Raiders coach Jon Gruden also wouldn't divulge any specifics, saying after practice that Brown "wasn't here today" and that "I'm not going to get into all this. ... I've been talking about the same guy every day."

In the letter, Mayock informed Brown that he was being fined $13,950 for missing a walk-through on Aug. 22, an unexcused absence. The letter also mentions that the team previously had fined Brown $40,000 for missing camp on Aug. 18 -- the day the GM issued his ultimatum to Brown, saying, "It's time for him to be all-in or all-out, OK?"

The Raiders had yet to announce anything official regarding a potential suspension, though there was confusion in the facility, according to sources. According to the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, a player can be suspended a maximum of four weeks for conduct detrimental to the team.

On Wednesday, an agitated Brown did not stretch with the team during warm-ups but then joined the receivers group for individual drills. Even then, he took plays off, which was unusual for Brown, whose hard-charging practice habits are well-known.

After catching one pass from Carr, Brown jogged toward the end zone and fired the football into the fence.

Brown was also overheard barking at a strength and conditioning coach before the media window closed on practice.

He declined to speak in the locker room after practice on Wednesday, saying he would talk Thursday.

It has been an adventurous offseason for the mercurial receiver and the Raiders, who parted with third- and fifth-round picks to acquire Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers in March and gave him a three-year, $30.125 million extension. After he showed up to training camp with frostbite on the bottoms of both feet from a cryotherapy treatment mishap in France, he left camp for two weeks seeking therapy, which included laser treatment.

Brown also was upset at the NFL for not allowing him to use his 10-year-old Schutt Air Advantage helmet because it did not pass safety standards. And after returning to the team, he took off again for a day after losing a grievance over the issue. That was on Aug, 18, the day Mayock issued his ultimatum.

While many in the front office wondered whether Brown could be trusted after his second departure, he seemed to be on his best behavior of late, even as he skipped out on a mandatory walk-through the morning of the Raiders' exhibition in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Aug. 22.

Brown and quarterback Derek Carr put on shows in pre-exhibition drills in Arizona and Winnipeg.

The letter from Mayock, which many saw as more of a warning against future behavior than an actual attempt to recoup money, seemed to set Brown off, and the team has to wonder whether Brown will ever play for the Raiders.

The Raiders open their season on Monday night with a home game against the AFC West rival Denver Broncos.

The news of Brown's impending suspension had an impact at Caesars Sportsbook. The Broncos now are a 2-point favorite at Caesars; the spread had been a pick 'em before news of the suspension. The total also dropped a point to 42.5.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27543780/sources-raiders-suspend-ab-tiff-gm

 

[bdg8]

Brown used to be enjoyable to watch. Now he is just a side show. A distraction

 

[QChawks]

WR’s are such premadonnas

 

[JupiterHawk]

Sounds like he could lose his guaranteed 30m and would allow for the Raiders to release him.

 

[BringIt2017]

Sounds like he could lose his guaranteed 30m and would allow for the Raiders to release him.

I’m not sure if that’s ever been done. It’d be hilarious if he lost all that money in the same year that Andrew Luck wasn’t required to pay any of his back.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

I wondered, before the season began, when we'd see the next real diva WR like a Terrell Owens or a Randy Moss or Chad Johnson...................guess I didn't have to wait long to get that answer.

 

[franklinman]

Sounds like he could lose his guaranteed 30m and would allow for the Raiders to release him.

That 30 m , plus all of last years money

 

[JupiterHawk]

I’m not sure if that’s ever been done. It’d be hilarious if he lost all that money in the same year that Andrew Luck wasn’t required to pay any of his back.

That 30 m , plus all of last years money

 

[Franisdaman]

Raiders release AB.

Who will sign him now?

 

[Milton Friedman disciple]

Raiders release AB.

Who will sign him now?

Patriots

 

[JupiterHawk]

 

[JupiterHawk]

Made his own video with Gruden call. Not bad actually.

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

As likely the ranking Stillers fan on this forum by age, Doodle will say this...a) those draft picks are looking pretty good...b) for crissakes please don't end up in Foxboro.

 

[JupiterHawk]

As likely the ranking Stillers fan on this forum by age, Doodle will say this...a) those draft picks are looking pretty good...b) for crissakes please don't end up in Foxboro.

Silly question but would the Steelers sign AB to a one year contract? Could they use that money they already have in the cap? That's going to probably be his best deal.

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

Silly question but would the Steelers sign AB to a one year contract? Could they use that money they already have in the cap? That's going to probably be his best deal.

Not a chance in hell.

 

[eightno2002]

The video ends with Brown saying, “I’m more than just a football player, man. I’m a real person. It ain’t about the football. I know I can do that. I show you guys that on the daily. This is my life. Ain’t no more games.”

I think the 29 million they were going to pay ab was about football...or maybe it’s because he’s a “real person”. What a drama queen

 

[win1forthe]

Going to the Patriots.

 

[HawkRugged17]

Going to the Patriots.

 

[HawkRugged17]

 

[HawkRugged17]

 

[franklinman]

I don't think AB could find Foxboro.

 

[Franisdaman]

AB runs around screaming 'I'm free' after being released by the Raiders.

Watch this; you THEN would definitely want him on your team:

 

[Franisdaman]

As likely the ranking Stillers fan on this forum by age, Doodle will say this...a) those draft picks are looking pretty good...b) for crissakes please don't end up in Foxboro.

how did you know that he would land there?

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

how did you know that he would land there?

Nostradoodleus strikes again.

 

[The Tradition]

Does he get to wear his Schutt AiR Advantage helmet with the Pats?

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

Does he get to wear his Schutt AiR Advantage helmet with the Pats?

Yes....but slightly deflated.

 

[joelbc1]

This is professional sports...football specifically. Managers and Coaches MANAGE personalities. There is no better manager of players and their personalities/egos than Belichick. He has rolled the dice on "talent" before and he will again. He ain't afraid to admit he made a mistake and let these players go. That is the #1 reason he has been so successful.
Give the devil his due. Brown will either play productive football for New England or he will be gone.

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

The reason the patriots can sign yhese types of guys is because unlike most other franchises...there are three unquestioned, unchallenged, unequivocal leaders (Belichick, Brady and Kraft) and there is a ZERO tolerance culture there. They've proven time after time that they are completely unafraid to dispose of even beloved and still productive players (even borderline hall of famers) if it suits their needs at the time to do so. Brown will have NO slack...and even he wouldn't be stupid enough to waltz in there and try the "I call the shots around here" routine.

 

[joelbc1]

The reason the patriots can sign yhese types of guys is because unlike most other franchises...there are three unquestioned, unchallenged, unequivocal leaders (Belichick, Brady and Kraft) and there is a ZERO tolerance culture there. They've proven time after time that they are completely unafraid to dispose of even beloved and still productive players (even borderline hall of famers) if it suits their needs at the time to do so. Brown will have NO slack...and even he wouldn't be stupid enough to waltz in there and try the "I call the shots around here" routine.

He might the day before he finds himself w/o a job!