Antonio Brown will be traded to Oakland Raiders, gets new contract

Antonio Brown will be trading the black and gold for the black and silver in 2019.

The 30-year-old wide receiver, who requested the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade him last month, unveiled a Twitter post Sunday morning showing him photoshopped in an Oakland Raiders uniform. He also posted a video on Twitter of him talking on the sidelines to Raiders quarterback Derek Carr at the Pro Bowl.

The Steelers and Raiders have agreed to a trade that will send Brown to Oakland in exchange for third-round and fifth-round draft picks in the April draft. The trade cannot be formally announced until Wednesday when the new NFL season opens.

The trade comes two days after it appeared that the Buffalo Bills were on the verge of acquiring Brown, according to an NFL Network report. That deal fell through when Brown declined to play in Buffalo.

☠️☠️☠️ #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/ul6lIVk9dE

— Antonio Brown (@AB84) March 10, 2019

The Raiders, with three first-round draft picks, appeared to be a logical destination for Brown. In the end, they were able to hold onto all of their first-round picks. Brown said in an Instagram video Friday afternoon that he would be traded with 24 hours. When nothing happened Saturday afternoon, reports surfaced that the hangup was Brown getting a new contract from his future employer.

In the end, it looks like he got his wish. Pro Football Talk reported that Brown will get a new contract that is loaded with guaranteed money.

Brown had three years and about $39 million left on the contract he signed with the Steelers in 2017. According to Pro Football Talk, Brown negotiated a new deal with Oakland that will pay him $50.125 million over the next three seasons, with $30.125 million in guaranteed money. Brown had no guaranteed compensation on his previous deal.

Love at first Sight...... @derekcarrqb pic.twitter.com/YiuCLq3G9z

— Antonio Brown (@AB84) March 10, 2019

The Steelers have been open to trading Brown since he skipped practice and missed a team walkthrough in advance of the Dec. 30 season finale against Cincinnati. Brown was ruled inactive for the game by coach Mike Tomlin. Brown left the game before its conclusion, skipped his season-ending exit interview and then did not return phone calls from Tomlin, general manager Kevin Colbert and team president Art Rooney II.

Brown finally met with Rooney in Florida last month and both sides exited the meeting with the understanding that a change of scenery was necessary for the wide receiver. Colbert said at the NFL Combine that the Steelers would not settle for anything less than “significant compensation” for Brown, who will turn 31 in the summer.

The Steelers may not have gotten a first-round pick in return for Brown, but they will not have to pay him the $2.5 million roster bonus that he was due on March 17. The Steelers, however, will have to carry a $21 million salary cap hit in 2019.

In nine seasons with the Steelers, Brown made the Pro Bowl seven times and was a four-time first-team All-Pro selection.

Without Brown, the Steelers will turn to third-year receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s No. 1 target. Second-year receiver James Washington likely will move into a starting role, and the Steelers are expected to add another wideout in free agency or the April draft.