Brown saga over; Steelers trade receiver to Raiders

ALAMEDA, CALIF. >> The Oakland Raiders agreed on a deal late March 9 to acquire prolific but disgruntled receiver Antonio Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers and will give him the lucrative new contract he wanted.

A person with direct knowledge of the trade told The Associated Press that the Raiders finalized the deal with the Steelers and will give Brown a new three-year contract worth $50.125 million instead of the $38.925 million he was owed by Pittsburgh. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal can’t be completed until the new league year starts March 13.

Pro Football Talk first reported the deal and says Pittsburgh will get thirdand fifth-round draft picks from Oakland.

The trade makes final what became a very messy and very public divorce between Brown and the team that helped turn the sixthround pick into arguably the greatest wide receiver of his generation.

It also gives the Raiders a high-profile addition for second-year coach Jon Gruden after trading away two of the team’s biggest stars last year in edge rusher Khalil Mack and receiver Amari Cooper.

Oakland got extra firstround picks in those trades but didn’t need to give up any of its four picks in the top 35 in the upcoming draft to acquire Brown, who has topped 100 receptions and 1,200 yards receiving in each of the past six seasons. The Raiders have had only one player reach those marks in a single season in franchise history, with Hall of Famer Tim Brown accomplishing the feat in 1997.

Brown now gives quarterback Derek Carr his biggest offensive weapon since entering the league in 2014 and the Raiders a legitimate star before they move to Las Vegas for the 2020 season.

The Raiders’ top wide receiver last season was Jordy Nelson, who had 63 catches for 739 yards.

Gruden has always admired Brown from his time as a broadcaster and had nothing but praise for the receiver before the teams played last December.

“He’s the hardest working man, I think, in football,” Gruden said. “Hardest working player I’ve ever seen practice. I’ve seen Jerry Rice, I’ve seen a lot of good ones, but I put Antonio Brown at the top. If there are any young wideouts out there, I’d go watch him practice. You figure out yourself why he’s such a good player.”

Brown was obviously pleased with the development, posting a picture of himself in a Raiders uniform and a video with Carr at a Pro Bowl with the caption “Love at first sight “on his Twitter account.

Brown is no stranger to drawing headlines for both his prolific on-field production and his off-the-field antics, including livestreaming from the locker room after a playoff win over Kansas City in January 2017 and getting pulled over for doing 100 mph in the northern Pittsburgh suburbs last fall.

The sometimes tumultuous relationship between the only player in NFL history with six straight 100-catch seasons and the franchise that made him the highest-paid player at his position in the spring of 2017 reached a breaking point in late December.

DON WRIGHT — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Antonio Brown was traded by the Steelers to the Raiders on March 9.