The Cost
A starting point of interest to kick off negotiations with the Pittsburgh Steelers for Antonio Brown will undoubtedly be a first round pick. Why? Because regardless of what the Steelers do with Brown, the team will be absorbing a $21.12 million cap hit, via Field Yates of ESPN.
That will increase to $23.62 million on March 17th when Brown is due a roster bonus. Why on Earth would the Steelers settle for anything less than a first round pick? They’re basically going to be paying him to play against him. Just because he requested a trade does not mean he will get it.
The Steelers are in the driver’s seat and will have no issues waiting for someone to cough up a first rounder. They didn’t let Le’Veon Bell strong arm them and they’re definitely not going to start with Brown. The cost of a potential first rounder is too high of a price for a rebuilding team like the Oakland Raiders.
They cannot afford to be giving up first round picks when there are so many holes on the team. This team is no where near a player away from contending for the playoffs. In fact, they’re not even multiple players away from making a real run. Jon Gruden has constantly preached about how much draft capital they have that will set up the Raiders for the future. So how does a trade for Antonio Brown make sense?