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Honored Contributor
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

And the decision is in----

 

ANTONIO BROWN IS A RAIDER!

 

Per a source with knowledge of the terms of the looming contract restructuring, the Raiders will guarantee $30 million of Brown’s future payout. Also, the total amount he was due to earn through 2021 will increase from $38.925 million to $50.125 million.

 

There are multiple ways to assess the new deal. Brown will make $16.7 million per year in hard dollars over the next three seasons. But when the $11.2 million is added to the $68 million in new money that Brown received two years ago from the Steelers, the new-money average on the entire deal spikes from $17 million to $19.8 million.

 

Brown also can trigger $4 million in incentives, which would be paid in 2020 and 2021. If earned, he’ll receive an extra $15.2 million over the next three years, and the new-money average of the deal he signed with Pittsburgh in 2017 will be $20.8 million.

 

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Honored Contributor
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

And the Steelers only get a third and a fifth round pick back, plus still take a $21 million cap hit. Not exactly a win for the Steelers. Still, it's better than just cutting him loose and getting nothing. Now the Steelers need to find a replacement for him.

 

People often say players have no power in the NFL, but they're wrong. AB pretty much controlled this whole thing. If you really want to be somewhere else, and you're willing to throw a hissy fit to get there, you can do it. AB had several years left on his contract, but managed to get them voided, got a new, better paying deal, avoided going someplace he didn't want to go, and left his old team $21 million poorer in the process with just a mid round and late round pick as compensation. That's a heck of a lot of power for a player.

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Honored Contributor
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

So, with AB now happily on his way to Oakland, will OBJ follow suit and force his way out of NY? I wouldn't be surprised. The Giants are probably unhappy with the price precedent the Steelers set with AB, but if they want to move OBJ, they're likely looking at similar compensation. A third and a fifth round pick isn't great, but it's better than nothing. The rumored deal with Cleveland for OBJ that never materialized may have gotten stalled when either Cleveland or the Giants heard about the Oakland deal being imminent and decided to see what the pricing was to be there. Now they know what a top tier, discontented wide receiver is worth. We could see that deal resurrected in some manner.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

Terrible return for AB. He did have way more control over this deal than he should of. This is not good for the league.  Disgruntled players will use this to get what they want, contract or no contract. Terrible! At the very least, he’s gone. Good rittance!!! 

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

Really good players typically have a lot of power, but many choose not to use it. We've seen TO, Kirk Cousins, now AB and Demarcus Lawrence (and to some extent Michael Bennett) all use their power to control where they end up. The Eagles may have emerged the most unscathed of the group by gaining $7.2 million in cap space and moving up about seventy slots in the draft in 2020. The Steelers gained two draft picks, but lost $21 million. The Redskins got pretty much nothing for Cousins.

 

If you're a good player and you don't mind alienating a fanbase and your current team, you have a lot of control. The Cowboys are learning that with Demarcus Lawrence. They tagged him last year at $17+ million, this year at $20+ million, and if they tag him again next year $30+ million. He's saying he won't sign the tag and will sit out the year if need be, ala Le'Veon Bell, so the Cowboys have to figure out what to do with him. Do they vastly overpay him (he reportedly wants $25 million a year guaranteed) or cut him free? I'd have made my best offer to him and then let him test free agency. The Cowboys chose to tag him. Now they have to deal with the repercussions.

 

Players have a lot of power, but don't always use it. In the last few years we've seen Kirk Cousins, Le'Veon Bell, AB, and Demarcus Lawrence use their power. Expect to see more players doing so in years to come.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

loss or not,  let someone else deal with that headache.

 

 

Honored Contributor
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!


@nun ya wrote:

loss or not,  let someone else deal with that headache.

 

 


That was the Steelers' perspective. We can't live with him, get what we can and move on. It's not a bad approach. Golden Tate is encouraging the Steelers to hire him to replace Brown. Not a bad move for the Steelers. Tate's a baller who loves the game and will give all he's got on every play. He's not a big step down from Brown in terms of play, but a big step up in character.

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

This could be interesting. A Steelers' front office source is now saying the AB deal is "just an agreement, not a done deal." Would the Steelers back out before Wednesday? Has someone come forward and offered a better deal? Imagine how testy AB would be if the Steelers pull back and decide to keep him. Nothing is truly done until the new league year starts Wednesday, so this could be pretty entertaining. Teams have broken deals before. The Seahawks almost did it last year with the Michael Bennett deal to the Eagles. The Patriots went to them after the agreement was announced and the Seahawks contemplated withdrawing from the agreement with the Eagles, but then decided to honor the original agreement. Maybe, just maybe the Steelers won't honor the agreement?

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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

[ Edited ]

@gardenman 

 

But ABs situation is rare, and he has an advantage of being the best WR in the NFL....a WR of lesser talent wouldn't have the same power to have it all go his way.....The same thing with Kirk Cousins, a shortage of decent QB's in FA and the draft (and a bit of stupidity from GM Bruce Allen )...allowed Kirk to have his way too...

 

But FAs on defense, in a glutted market, and a draft heavy on the cheaper and younger defensive players, is going to make it tough on veteran players to get what they want....I think it has more to do with position, supply, and demand

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Honored Contributor
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Re: NFL News and Notes for March 2019!!!

@Spurt 

 

Josh Norman played a similar game with the Panthers a few years back. They'd tagged him, he made it clear he didn't want to be there. They rescinded the tag and let him go. Demarcus Lawrence is pretty much holding a gun to Jerry Jones' head right now. Defensve players can play the game. You have to be a good to great player to play these games, but quite a few guys play the game.

 

The Eagles picked up Nick Foles' option for $20 million this year, but he had a $2 million buyout that he exercised. It may end up costing him money if a market for him doesn't develop. He pretty much has to make $22 million this year to break even and with just one team bidding for him, he might not get it.

 

Players have a lot of power, but many don't exploit it.

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