Disgruntled All-Pro Wide Receiver Antonio Brown Traded To Oakland Raiders
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Disgruntled Pittsburgh All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown, who demanded a trade after a public falling out with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, took to social media Saturday night to announce he has been traded to the Oakland Raiders.
According to reports, Brown will received a raise to entice him to agree to joining the Raiders. ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported the veteran wide receiver will earn $50.125 million over the next few years with incentives up to $54.125 million and $30.125 million guaranteed.
In return Pittsburgh with receive a third and fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft.
The trade ends weeks of speculation about where Brown would end up including interest by the San Francisco 49ers. It appeared he would be headed to Buffalo earlier this week, but the deal reportedly fell through when Brown wouldn't commit to reporting to the team.
His acquisition instantly upgrades the Oakland anemic offensive attack and comes after the Raiders traded away star wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys for a first-round pick during their dismal 2018 campaign.
Last season, Brown hauled in six more touchdowns than every wide receiver that was on the Raiders roster at the end of the season last year.
Quarterback Derek Carr took to twitter Saturday night to voice his approval of the trade.
Brown got in a dispute with Roethlisberger before a must-win game in December. He skipped out on practices and meetings and was benched by head coach Mike Tomlin.
Steelers owner Dan Rooney II said at the time that he couldn't envision Brown being with the team by the time training camp for the 2019 season began. The war of words escalated with Brown eventually requesting a trade.
In his nine seasons in Pittsburgh, Brown put up seven 1,000-yard receiving seasons and tallied more than 100 catches six times. He also added 74 receiving touchdowns, including a career high 15 in 2018.
