Steelers receiver, Antonio Brown trades to the Oakland Raiders
Whitley Bras, Staff Writer
Antonio Brown is now a wide receiver for the Oakland, California Raiders after the Pittsburgh Steelers made a trade for the start of the official season.
Brown has been playing in the NFL since 2010 and during that entire time played for the Steelers. He just made the switch over to the Raiders during this year’s draft pick rounds and is happy with the decision as far as press goes. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus explained that the Raiders were “a great fit” for his client during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter. Rosenhaus later stated that “he [Brown] wanted a fresh start and certainly got an opportunity to go to a renowned franchise, one of the marquee franchises in the NFL, a historical team.”
The Raiders finished at number 4 in the AFC West Division this past season and had a win-loss record of 4-12. Since 1929 the Raiders have won three Superbowl’s and are an extremely well-known team. Now that they have Antonio Brown, who was a top player for the Steelers, their future is looking bright.
Due to the fact that Brown jumped ships after nine long seasons with the Steelers, caused there to be speculation on what caused the well-known athlete to leave. His agent explained to ESPN that things were beginning to fall apart at the end of the season and there were things said that pushed the split even more. The split was described as a divorce. His agent said, “Antonio had nine great years. Sometimes in life, whether it’s sports or business, you have a great relationship, but things happen, and you have to move on.”
Brown is showing excitement on the trade and is talking about it on social media. On Instagram when talking about joining the Raiders he said, “honored and grateful for this opportunity! God is great all the time, all the time God is great.”
The switch has been seen as a bold career move for Brown and time will tell as far as how effective the trade was for both teams. Now that Brown is playing for the Raiders, he will receive a new three-year deal worth up to $54 million with $30 million guaranteed. His previous deal with the Steelers was only three years and $38.9 million left on his contract, and none of the money guaranteed.
In an ESPN article, a source told reporter Adam Schefter that the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to trade their wide receiver to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a third- and fifth-round draft pick. Although the Steelers gained this advantage in round picks, they will have to deal with $21 million in dead money against their salary cap because of the Brown trade. ESPN explains that it is thought to be the largest dead-money charge in NFL history.
Overall, Brown is a much-anticipated player for the upcoming NFL season and has given some hype to the Raiders. Now that Brown has left the Steelers after nine long seasons fans will need to keep a lookout to see how he compares as a receiver for the Oakland Raiders.
Sources: Antonio Brown social media, ESPN, Raiders official NFL
