Late Friday night, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown went on Instagram and said in less than 24 hours we’d know who his new team would be. However, here we sit and Brown is still a Steeler. It makes you wonder why this hasn’t happened yet. We have three theories and we want to hear from Steeler Nation which one you think is the reason.
He just wants too much money
We don’t dive into unsubstantiated rumors here but when it starts to circulate that Brown wants a new contract with his new team in the $18-$20 million per year range it gives us pause. This is the same guy who said in an interview he didn’t need football, didn’t need money and everything he had was paid for and he had plenty of money in the bank. His perspective on money has flip-flopped multiple times but if this rumor is true, he’s going to struggle to find a team willing to pay him this type of money.
No team will give Pittsburgh what they want
It’s unclear what the demands of the Steelers are but the holdup could just be a matter of compensation. The Steelers have said all along they will trade Brown but they aren’t giving him away. Brown wants out but he might not get his wish if the only teams offering the picks the Steelers want Brown is refusing to play for. The difference between having Brown on the roster or not isn’t a huge amount of money so there’s very little financial motivation for the Steelers to force a trade.
Brown did himself in with all his baggage
Over the course of the past several weeks, Brown has taken to social media and gone on television and thrown the Steelers and specifically Ben Roethlisberger under the bus. He’s blasted the team for not making enough of an effort to connect with him on a personal level and assumes zero responsibility for his role in how the season ended. This could just be a case where teams are wondering if the talent Brown brings to the field on Sundays is worth all the other distractions coming along for the ride.
