How a 49ers trade for Steelers WR Antonio Brown would work, contractually

There’s more than enough buzz surrounding Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and trade speculation to the San Francisco 49ers. How would it work, contractually, if such a blockbuster actually went through?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock since late Dec. 31, 2018, you’re probably familiar with all the rumors and buzz surrounding the San Francisco 49ers and a possible courtship with disgruntled Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Brown is the latest Steelers player to be frustrated with his situation in Pittsburgh. He skipped practices and even missed the team’s 2018 finale, which has gone on to include plenty of back and forths with various Niners players, including tight end George Kittle, and Brown then went on both a Twitter and Instagram liking/following spree of both 49ers players and the team itself.

Interesting.

OK, so the rumor mill is always a fun one to watch. And it wouldn’t be a shock to see if Brown is merely using the Niners as leverage against the Steelers for one reason or another.

But what if Pittsburgh and San Francisco were able to strike a mutual deal? Let’s speculate that, or at least the details that could be determined.

The first part is the trade compensation. Brown will turn 31 years old before the 2019 season begins. That’ll likely drive down NFL Draft-pick compensation a bit, but probably not by much. An educated guess might be two second-round picks, one in 2019 and the other in 2020. But that’s all speculation at this point.

Instead, we’d have to look at the financial aspects of it all. Take a look at Brown’s current contract with the Steelers. Play around with the toggle in the top-right corner:

Brown costs a total cap hit of $22.165 million in 2019. But the key date to note is June 1 of this year.

If the Steelers were to trade Brown to San Francisco prior to that date, they’d have to eat $21.12 million in dead money, while only generating just over $1 million in cap space. Afterwards, however, a trade to the Niners would cost Pittsburgh $7.04 million in dead money — his prorated signing bonus — while saving $15.125 million in cap space.

One thing to consider, though, is the following from Over the Cap’s Jason Fitzgerald:

The 49ers, meanwhile, would take on his base salary, all roster and workout bonuses, as well as any guaranteed language within the contract, as Niners Nation’s cap expert, Jason Hurley, pointed out to us earlier.

The Steelers have a projected $26.65 million in cap space for 2019, so that $15-plus million in savings would do some good even if the dead money associated is still a lot. San Francisco, meanwhile, is projected to have over $66 million in available space.

So, if you’re holding onto the idea Brown will be suiting up for the red and gold this upcoming season, don’t bank on anything happening, if at all, until after that June 1 cut-off point.