The NFL Trade “heard around the world” happened over the weekend. My Pittsburgh Steelers traded Antonio Brown to the Oakland Rrrrraiders for a third- and fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.
While I was shocked that Pittsburgh was able to garner two draft picks from Oakland, the Steelers clearly got fleeced for a talent like AB. Under other circumstances, he would be worth AT LEAST a first and second.
So yeah, Jon Gruden and the Raiders are patting themselves on the back right now. However, everyone knows that AB played this almost exactly how he wanted it.
First, AB managed to get the hell out of Pittsburgh. He talked all that shit about Big Ben, the Steelers over social media and on shows (he crucified both parties on “The Shop”). He didn’t even give a damn about sabotaging his trade value.
More importantly, AB managed to accomplish what he wanted all along: mo’ money, mo’ money, MO’ MONEY. Oakland, agreed to a new three-year deal with Brown for $50.125 million (incentives can push it up to $54.125 million) and $30.125 million guaranteed, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
So basically AB proved to the rest of the NFL that in a sport where the teams usually control the players, the players DO have leverage in given circumstances. In short, AB stuck it to “The Man”.
It will be interesting to see if other superstars employ the “AB approach”. In the meantime, what a weird offseason this has been in Pittsburgh…
Categories: NFL
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