Antonio Brown Trade: Steelers Can Withhold $2.5 Million Roster Bonus Post-Deadline

Antonio Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers are on a collision course with respect to the $2.5 million roster bonus payment owed to the wide receiver. He is expecting to be paid the entire amount by March 17 but it is unlikely to happen after new details emerged during the weekend.

The Steelers wide receiver has made it clear that he wants out from the team and is expected to be traded to a team of his preference before the start of the new season. And Brown is certain it will happen as his current employers will not want an added distraction when the new campaign gets underway.

Brown expects the Steelers to pay him the $2.5 million roster bonus on March 17 as it makes business sense for the franchise, but he is even willing to accept it from another team if he is traded before the day arrives.

“Why wouldn’t they not trade me?” Brown said, as quoted on Yahoo Sports. “They gotta pay me $2.5 million on March 17. If I invoice you March 17, $2.5 million that you gotta pay me, would you pay it or would you get somebody else to pay it? So it’s what — pretty much what’s good for their business. . . . They want to start a fresh offseason with no bad blood so their team could just focus on football. No distraction from any player. So I think they’ll get it done.”

However, according to Pro Football Talks (PFT), they have obtained a copy of the contract Brown signed with the Steelers in March and that clearly states that he is not owed the roster bonus in its entirety on March 17. It reportedly specifies that the $2.5 million bonus due on the fifth day of the league year in 2019 will be paid out in 17 weekly installments throughout the season.

The breakdown of the bonus works out to $147,058.82 per week and it will be paid starting from Week 1 to the end of the season in Week 17. And if Brown is traded before the first week of the new season, his new team will have to assume the responsibilities of the payment and pay him an extra $2.5 million.

The new details in the contract make it clear that the Steelers are not obligated to trade him before the March 17 deadline which gives them the advantage and negates Brown’s earlier comments about them being on a timeline when it comes to trading him.

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of interest for one of the top wide receivers in the NFL from other franchises with ESPN’s Adam Schefter reporting that the Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins, and the Tennessee Titans are the three teams showing the most interest in the player.