Antonio Brown and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have finalized a contract agreement, and the structure of the deal should not come as a surprise.
Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports that Brown has signed a one-year deal with the Bucs that is worth slightly above the veteran minimum in base salary, which is around $1 million for players with Brown’s service time. The contract includes per-game roster bonuses, individual incentives and team incentives that run up to the Super Bowl.
Brown is suspended through Week 8 and has about as many red flags as a player can have, so an incentive-laden deal was likely all he was going to get. It makes sense that he chose Tampa Bay, as the Bucs are clearly a contender in NFC and Brown has maintained a relationship with Tom Brady since the two were teammates for a brief time in New England last year.
Before the season, it seemed like there was no way Bruce Arians was willing to sign Brown. Arians and Brown worked together when Arians was the offensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Arians referred to AB as a “diva” not long ago and said the receiver is no longer the same person the Steelers drafted. Brown blasted Arians in response.
Despite that, the deal carries little risk for the Bucs. If Brown doesn’t buy in or continues with his streak of off-field issues, Tampa will just release him.
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