Football

He was always pretty much the same but his ego inflated with the contract

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Antonio Brown's Steelers teammates figured he wouldn't make it to Week 1 with Oakland. They were right.

ne of the more interesting parts of Fowler’s story: Brown’s teammates on the Steelers knew he wouldn’t last long in Oakland.

“When Brown signed that deal [with Oakland] in March,” Fowler wrote. “Some Steelers privately debated how long Brown would last without the generous concessions [Mike] Tomlin made for the receiver.

“The consensus was that Brown wouldn't make it to Week 1 — and that turned out to be right.”

Brown’s issues with the Raiders have been well-documented: there was the almost-inexplicable devotion to a helmet model he couldn’t wear for safety reasons, the cryotherapy incident that left him with severely blistered feet and at least one confrontation with Oakland general manager Mike Mayock.

As players in Pittsburgh knew full well, and as Fowler further documents, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin allowed special rules for Brown — as long as he continued to produce on the field.

And still, it wasn’t enough. From Fowler’s profile:

Even with the relaxed barricades around him, Brown often welcomed conflict, which many teammates noticed in his love-hate relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. If Brown had a problem, he wouldn't hold back in voicing his frustration, including once when Roethlisberger tried to enforce his no-music policy in the locker room. “F--- you, cracker,” Brown responded, according to one Steeler. The two usually hashed things out, but Brown's in-your-face, confrontational style became exhausting to some players who just wanted to come to work without issue.

Big money = bigger headache
Many said things got worse after Brown signed a four year, $68 million extension in February 2017. Friends and former teammates said his disruptive behavior became more frequent.

Before he forced his way out of Pittsburgh, his off-field issues had mounted. In addition to police making 20 trips to his home from 2014-18, there were disputes with the mothers of his children, lawsuits and mounting bills alleging lack of payment from Brown for a variety of services.

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