This is coming directly from him—he instigated conversations and wants it done
General want, may have come up in conversation, but not at the forefront of his mind
It's a writer making news by leading questions that AB answered honestly, if unwisely
It's simply recycled garbage and AB maybe didn't even talk to the guy
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Here's the link.
Personally, I think it's recycled garbage. But, I want your opinion. Do you think this is coming from AB? Is it an offhanded comment spun up into something more (say, AB, how'd you feel about a new contract? asks a reporter. "I'd love one," he answers. "But we're already heading into camp, so if something like that were to happen, it'd have to be soon." HEADLINES: AB WANTS NEW CONTRACT!) Something else?
If I would be the Steelers, I would give a new contract at Brown and the steelers are lucky that Brown has a very good attitude and he will not make a holdout.
Brown's contract has been one of the best contract in NFL history for a team.
when they didn't sign Wallace and gave Brown his deal, I thought the Steelers way over paid. Obviously they knew what they had and the contract ended up being a bargain.
Haven't the Steelers almost been flawless recently in drafting wr talent. Last bust I can remember was Sweed in 07 or 08 I believe.
Wallace, Sanders, Brown, Bryant, Wheaton, and now likely Coates will prove to be a viable starter for us.
Brown has earned a mega contract, but can you give him a $15M/yr deal and afford everyone else you need.
Brown looks even better because of his work ethic and no off the field issues, but how much of it is the QB. He's locked in through 2017 and we could play hard ball and franchise him for a year after that.
At that point, he's on the downside and Ben likely only has 4 years left anyway.
The steelers have been great for drafted WR in recent years, but none of his WR has been close at the level to Brown.
And if the steelers play hard ball with Antonio Brown, that would be very bad for the reputation of the team.
Letting Brown walk away over money would be the offensive equivalent of letting Woodson go.
Don't do it.
Originally Posted by lipps83
Agree.
Didn't Brown willfully agree and sign his current contract? When his current contract is up then make another.
Hater = Realist
His current contract isn't up until 2018, 2 offseasons from now
I guess he shouldn't have signed the contract.
Hater = Realist
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No, it would be much worse. AB is the best WR in the NFL and is still young and getting better. Woodson had lost speed and needed to switch to safety when he was let go.
As others have said, AB still has 2 more years left on his contract so he's not going anywhere any time soon.
“I believe the game is designed to reward the ones who hit the hardest. If you can't take it, you shouldn't play!” - Jack Lambert
Work out a new contract next offseason; he's earned it. Until then, he is not the highest-paid WR in the league but he is still being paid well. Pretty much the end of THAT discussion.
By the way, there is one option not listed in the poll that I think may be the real answer - which is that this may not be the first thing on the mind of Brown himself, but he has a real dickhead for an agent, and you can bet your bottom dollar that guy is going to go around trying to stir up shit wherever he can.
See you Space Cowboy ...
Several average WR are paid more than Brown right now.By the market, Brown is not very well paid right now....
I am just happy than Brown will not make a holdout....
There's something in the neighborhood of 25 or so receivers paid more than Brown...lol.
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The Rooneys took a big gamble on Brown when they gave him the contract. Brown knows that. Now, that gamble is paying off. Brown coming into camp and not causing disruption is a very good sign. Do it again next year, and I'll guarantee the Rooneys will be willing to pay Brown a very nice contract next year.
We all know the Steelers way when it comes to contracts: negotiate a new contract one year prior to the previous one's end date. It's a great philosophy that's served this team well, and they've only reneged on that philosophy one time—when Maddox was being paid third string money while starting for the Steelers.
Pay AB now.
But, but, but... his contract.
Things change. The market has gone waaay up, and he should be paid accordingly.
But, but, but... I'd be glad to play for what he makes.
Alas, you aren't as skilled as AB. In fact, neither is any other receiver.
But, but, but... I don't re-negotiate in my job.
Musicians, actors, and athletes are not in the same type of job. At one point, Chris Pratt could only command about $1 million per movie. No longer (he makes so much more).
But, but, but... millions.
The owners make billions. Most people do not understand how significant the difference is between a million and a billion. (No derision; the amounts are arbitrary to 99% of people.) This will help: you live the 1 millionth second of your life on the 11th day of your life, and your billionth second at almost the age of 32. So, yeah, I'm going to side with the underpaid millionaire player over the ungodly rich billionaire owners.
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If they pay him more now theoretically they will not have to pay even more in 2 years. Give him a bump if there is room, but not to the highest paid receiver.
All Defense!
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None of them are worth the money they are being paid. Its a sick system.
I mean as far as being an all time fan favorite more-so than talent wise in the Woodson comparison.
AB is a once in a generation player both in his skill and attitude. WR's are a dime a dozen, but AB is priceless.
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No.
What you, and many others, are forgetting is that (1) he was vastly overpaid his first year of the contract—66 receptions and 787 yards with a 62.3 percent catch rate. The next year looks great, but when you dig into the number, you realize a lot of it was simply because the balls thrown to him increased. In fact, according to this sheet, he was paid as much as DeSean Jackson, who had very similar stats - hence, he didn't outplay his contract that year.
in 2015, he restructured his contract, and got a 4.4 million bonus tacked on each of the following years of his contract. Hence, 2015, he actually made 7.1 million, just three spots out of the top ten WR salaries. In 2016, he's going to make over 12 Million, which puts him 8th in top salaries for WRs. As it stands next year, he's going to get 13.1 Mill, which puts him FOURTH HIGHEST in WRs paid.
So, sorry, but I couldn't care less about his so-called plight. He's making very good money, and is being paid moneys in the top half of the WRs in the league, with the next two years putting him in the top 10 and top 5, respectively with his current contract.
And that, I remind you, is because the Steelers ALREADY decided to help him out and give him a fantastic restructuring bonus.
Oh, and Billionaire owners? I couldn't care less. Every team is given only so much money they can spend on a team each year. That's the reality, not how much money an owner has.
He's already going to be bumped to the top 10 and then top 5 receivers in his current contract. No reason to negotiate now. (see above).
That doesn't mean the Steelers should pay for other teams' stupidity, especially when it was the Steelers who took the giant gamble of giving him his current contract when he was still unproven and letting Wallace walk to begin with. Teams like the Buccaneers paying guys like Vincent Jackson almost $12 million per year is a big part of the reason those teams suck year in and year out.
The Rooneys don't...
True. They do not have multi-millions coming in from a secondary business (e.g. Jerrah has oil money).
That said, they are one of 32 owners/ownership groups that split the revenue from the multi-billion dollar television deals.
1. TOP TEN
Top ten is not #1.
Top 5 is not #1.
For arguement's sake, let's say those next two years are "good enough". Okay... but, the previous three seasons were nowhere near the top ten... putting him in the top ten in less than half of his monster (top ten stats-wise) seasons:
2013: 110 for 1499, with (only) 8 TDs
2014: 129 for 1698, with 13 TDs
2015: 136 for 1834, with 10 TDs
2. BILLIONS:
I'm pro-player. The owners bring in billions from television deals, and from jersey sales, and ticket sales, and et cetera. IMO the salary cap should be $50 million higher, putting a larger percentage back into the players' hands.
3. OVERPAID???
I wholeheartedly disagree. These athletes perform tasks that very few can even dream of doing. And, AB might be the best offensive player I've ever seen, and at a minimum, the most "special" since Barry Sanders. IMO he's is worth every single penny that he earns.
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They are athletes playing a game....and a meaningless one at that in the grand scheme of things. There is one neurosurgeon for every 81000 people in North America and the median salary for these doctors (in the US) is $540,000 per year. I have no sympathy for sports figures complaining about money.
You do know there's a thing called the salary cap, and that's what limits how much you can pay someone, right?
Voluntarily increasing a guy's cap hit by $8 million or so when you don't have to yet is suicidally stupid. If that's the difference between, say, keeping Bell next year or not, or adding the one missing piece or not, then I'll side with the billionaire owner.
I am much more interested in seeing the team try to win a championship than in making sure all the players are highly paid.
See you Space Cowboy ...
As far as importance goes, you are 100% correct. In a similar vein, police, fire, & teachers are all vastly underpaid, as well.
But... we are talking about discretionary income.
I doubt we'll see a stadium full of people paying to watch a heart transplant. Likewise, I've never seen anyone wear a jersey with "Dr. Goldfarb" on the back. But, people will routinely spend $500 on a Sunday for a game. More importantly, millions of us contribute to the billion-dollar television deal, by subscribing to DirecTV and/or cable.
As far as neuronsurgeons being underpaid, that is analogous to the NFL. Because, who ends up with all of that money that is paid to medical insurance companies? It certainly isn't the doctors. Yes, the doctors are indeed paid well, but not as much as they should be (considering how much money goes into HMOs).
- - - Updated - - -
Read above:
(where I stated that IMO the cap should be $50 million higher)
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Look at it in context. Brown was
2013: second in receptions, second in receiving yards, 17th in TD receptions. 103rd in reception yards per game - yeah, 103rd.
2014: first in receptions and yards, second in TDs, Doesn't register for yards per receptions.
2015: 1st in receptions, second in receiving yards, but tied for 10th with three other players in receiving touchdowns. He doesn't even REGISTER in the top ten for yards per reception.
When you have that type of fall off in half your categories in two out of three years, and then you're getting paid in the top ten, and then top five in the two following years, I think that's exactly where he should be paid.
And every girl should get a unicorn as a pet.2. BILLIONS:
I'm pro-player. The owners bring in billions from television deals, and from jersey sales, and ticket sales, and et cetera. IMO the salary cap should be $50 million higher, putting a larger percentage back into the players' hands.
We're not talking about what should be, but about what is. And, what is, is a salary cap whereby the owners can pay only so much to the players as a whole. Pay too much to one player, and you're out of balance and the team begins losing games due to bad personnel in other positions.
(Note - first line wasn't meant to mock, rather, just illustrating the difference between want and reality).
Yes, for the 2012 year, he was overpaid. I didnt' say he was overpaid for 2013 or otherwise. But when you look at the stats, and his stats leading up to that year as well, he was very much overpaid. Again, the Rooneys took a big gamble on him, and it paid off. He got money he hadn't yet earned (didn't prove he was worth that much money yet leading up to 2012). If the Rooneys were willing to stand by him with that money then, he should be willing to stand by them now, especially as he's still getting paid in the top 10, and then top 5 WRs of the league - exactly where his stats say he should be paid, when you look at all of them, rather than just one or two, and look at them in context.3. OVERPAID???
I wholeheartedly disagree. These athletes perform tasks that very few can even dream of doing. And, AB might be the best offensive player I've ever seen, and at a minimum, the most "special" since Barry Sanders. IMO he's is worth every single penny that he earns.
If you think Brown will not be the highest paid WR in the NFL in his next contract, you will be disappointed!
Brown has been the best WR in the last three years.
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PAY THE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Actually the insurance companies are just the fall guy that takes all the misdirected anger at healthcare costs. The real issue is that hospitals make up the price as they go along and charge whatever they want. Things that cost $200 get billed as $10,000. That's what drives up the cost for everyone, why people lose their life savings, etc. Insurance companies are really strictly regulated, pretty much like public water and electricity utilities. Especially in California. The government sets the percentage of how much money they can keep and how much has to be paid out. They have a huge incentive to fight high costs and are basically the main counterweight to runaway price increases.
I am not a big fan of insurance companies or anything, but directing all your anger at them over money just shows a lack of understanding of how the industry works.
Could be, but take that up with the players' union, not me.
The cap is fine where it is if you ask me. Raising it $50 million, that's great, but who's going to ultimately be paying for that? Are the owners just going to hand over $1.5 billion a year and take it on the chin, without making it up somewhere else? No, that's asking for a 35% increase on the price of everything from tickets to TV packages, and it's also how you get more PSLs, and $100 parking, and other creative ways to stick it to the fans.
"Millionaire players against billionaire owners" is not the fight that's happening at all, not when thousandaire me is the ultimate source of ALL the money we're talking about. Guess whose side I'm going to take in that argument?
See you Space Cowboy ...
STATS:
You can find any stat for any player wherein they drop off. But, in the major categories, AB is top three. For example, a few receivers may have had a 300 yard game; AB was the most consistent receiver for two entire seasons (5 rec, 50 yards per game for 35 games... a streak that was only broken because he had Vick throwing him the ball).
Speaking of which, remember that last season, AB put up those numbers even without BB playing for a stretch.
Lastly, a certain Steelers website used to harp on one (random) stat about LeBeau, while ignoring the most important stat (points allowed... where the Steelers were #1 in six out of seven seasons).
UNICORNS:
I think the analogy would be better with iPads in schools. Every little girl wants an iPad, but the principal is keeping most of them locked up on his garage all for himself.
Just because the system is broken doesn't mean that I have to agree with it.
That said, it is indeed the current system. You are correct that you cannot break the back for one player. Normally. But, this is a special case. AB is the most special player that I've seen since Barry Sanders. AB will surpass 175 receptions and 2000 yards at least once.
Likewise, I feel that in this ONE case, the Rooneys should "break" their rule, and renegotiate with AB this off-season. I'm not advocating for a hold out; I'm advocating for the Roobeys to take the initiative.
UNDERPAID:
2012: overpaid
2013: underpaid
Those two seasons wash each other out.
2014: underpaid
2015: underpaid
2016: top ten
2017: top five
Again, I'd like to see the Rooneys initiate the renegotiation.
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