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Having shared his feelings about needing guaranteed money on Monday night, Antonio Brown finally sat down with the man who had once made him the highest paid receiver in football on Tuesday morning, sharing a photograph of his meeting with Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II via social media.
However, for those hoping that this sit down would result in some sort of resolution that ended with AB staying in Pittsburgh, the captioned the wide receiver attached to the image quickly killed off that notion.
Had a great meeting with Mr.Rooney today we discussed a lot of things and we cleared the air on several issues! We both agreed that it is time to move on but I’ll always have appreciation and gratitude towards the Rooney family and @steelers organization! #CallGod #Boomin pic.twitter.com/DEgURchvhW
— Antonio Brown (@AB84) February 19, 2019
As per Adam Schefter of ESPN, the meeting also included Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus, Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert and Vice President of Football & Business Administration Omar Kahn. Schefter also confirmed that both sides had agreed a trade was in everyone’s best interests.
Antonio Brown met today with Art Rooney, per source. Then Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus joined the meeting, as did Steelers’ GM Kevin Colbert and exec Omar Kahn. Meeting was cordial and “everyone agreed the trade will be for the best,” per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 19, 2019
Albert Breer of the MMQB also had some more insights to share about who was there and what was said.
Also, the initial meeting was just between Rooney and Brown, with AB's father, Eddie Brown, also in the room. After that, agent Drew Rosenhaus and Steeler execs Kevin Colbert and Omar Khan joined in to work through what's ahead. https://t.co/7jZBkFgYGc
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) February 19, 2019
One of the more interesting parts of this recent revelation seems to be Pittsburgh’s refusal to allow Brown and his agent to speak with other teams themselves. A point also confirmed by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Clarity on Antonio Brown: Source says the #Steelers agreed to work on the potential trade but Brown and his agent Drew Rosenhaus do not have permission to speak with teams.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 19, 2019
The Steelers insistence at controlling where AB goes at this stage should be a clear sign to the wide receiver that Pittsburgh’s interests will come before any destination he might have in mind.
As more information about the meeting becomes available we will be sure to update this post.