Early Saturday morning, ESPN football guru Adam Schefter tweeted five words filled with schadenfreude.
“How’s Pittsburgh feeling this morning?”
Then, Steelers fans couldn’t be happier, for their once-beloved superstar wide receiver, Antonio Brown, had just demanded the Raiders release him following an offseason that included more drama than the stages on Broadway.
Now, Pittsburgh fans are likely miserable knowing Brown is off to New England, one of five teams the Steelers refused to send him to in March (the others being the rest of the AFC North, where the Steelers play) when Brown demanded to be traded, which came in response to being benched for skipping practice ahead of the regular-season finale and a fractured relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
One hour after he was eligible to sign with a new team following his divorce from Oakland, Brown signed a one-year deal worth up to $15 million with the Patriots; if it’s any consolation for Pittsburgh, Brown isn’t eligible to suit up when the Steelers battle the Patriots Sunday night in Foxborough.
The final straw in Brown’s relationship with Oakland appeared to be another fine levied Saturday morning — likely in response to Brown posting a video to YouTube of what seemed to be a private conversation with Jon Gruden, in which the head coach desperately tried to get Brown to focus on football — that effectively stripped Brown of the $29 million he was owed in guaranteed money.
Brown shared another video Saturday afternoon, purportedly showcasing the moment he found out Oakland released him.
“Free,” he chanted while running around what appeared to be in his backyard.
Free to destroy the Steelers, alongside Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, on the way to the Super Bowl, that is.