Rossi: Steelers need to break precedent, give Brown new contract
If there is a first time for everything, Thursday might have been exactly that for the Steelers. No less an authority than Art Rooney II said he could not recall rain falling as players reported to the greatest football place on the planet.
That place is St. Vincent, and it as much a part of the Steeler Way as is winning Super Bowls.
“You know, I can't remember rain for one of these,” said Rooney II, the Steelers president with a Hall of Fame father and late grandfather, from inside one of the campus dorm hallways.
“Let's hope it doesn't start a trend.”
Indeed.
Sticky (not soggy) is how you're supposed to feel at a Steelers training camp. Baking under the seemingly sinister sun that haunts Latrobe this time of year is truly part of the experience that connects fans to players and coaches and even pro football's first family.
The Rooneys remain that family. Doesn't mean the Steelers' way of doing business should remain the same as it always has been now that The Chief's grandson clearly is calling the shots.
If anything, the trend under Rooney II has been to break from tradition more than anybody could have expected. Under his watch, everything from alternate uniforms to the retiring of players' numbers has happened — not to mention the no-so-subtle transition from dominating with defense to ascending with an awesome aerial attack.
Let's hope cheerleaders aren't next.
A new contract for Antonio Brown would be a welcome addition, though.
It probably won't happen, though. Actually, you can forget “probably.”
The Steelers simply do not deal with contractual matters for a player in Brown's position. His contract is for this and next season, and that's that.
That was that for every Steeler of the salary-cap era, from Big Ben to Troy to Hines to The Bus. Each eventually was paid, but not until the final year of his contract or right before.
That's how the Steelers have made it work in the NFL's salary-cap era. So why should AB be an exception to the rule?
Well, it's not actually a rule. At least, it's not a rule written anywhere.
Still, even if we presume it has been a preference, Brown is worthy of being considered an aberration. He certainly has performed preternaturally the past three seasons, when he has transitioned from the receiver who took money meant for Mike Wallace to the most explosive Steelers wideout since Lynn Swann.
The adage is that statistics do not lie. Doesn't mean they don't contribute to what might otherwise be considered folklore.
And were he not 5-foot-10 — or unlikely to wear any outfit, let alone flannel, more than once — Brown could be the Steelers' equivalent of Paul Bunyan. Unless you consider his production the past three seasons (375 catches, 5,031 yards and 31 touchdowns) something other than superhuman.
I'm of the thought that it's the best three-year stretch by any Steelers player.
I'm also of a mind that no Steeler has outperformed a contract so emphatically. Maybe no NFL player has been as deserving of having his contract ripped up and replaced.
Here was the deal: five years and $41.96 million, with a guarantee and signing bonus each of $8.5 million. When Brown was given it, the Steelers were betting on his potential.
Three years later, he potentially is the best non-quarterback in the NFL.
In AB, we're watching something like Mean Joe Greene in his prime: a freakish athlete who is obliterating form by functioning on a level above what was conceivable.
As has already been established under Rooney II, the Steelers' rules didn't apply to Joe Greene. Nobody is going to wear No. 75 again for the Steelers.
Likewise, nobody playing the position of wide receiver should make more than the Steelers' No. 84, and that should start with this season.
It rained when the Steelers reported to camp Thursday. That was a rarity, not a trend.
A new contract now for Brown would be no different, even if it will be a change for the Steelers.
Rob Rossi is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at rrossi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @RobRossi_Trib.
