How much should the 49ers give up for Antonio Brown?

After months of speculation, wide receiver Antonio Brown has officially requested to be traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Niner Noise looks at Brown’s value and how much the San Francisco 49ers should offer, if they do at all.

2019 was off to a great start for San Francisco 49ers fans, as wide receiver Antonio Brown, signifying his dissatisfaction with the Pittsburgh Steelers, tweeted at Niners tight end George Kittle with a simple emoji to let the world know his new preferred destination — San Francisco.

Bringing in Brown would be huge for the 49ers. If he isn’t the best receiver in the NFL, he’s top three. His exceptional route running and ability to get open, that I’m sure head coach Kyle Shanahan salivates over, combined with his sure hands and overall remarkable playstyle, has culminated into gargantuan production for the bona fide star.

However, like many celebrities, Brown’s fame has seemed to get into his head. He sat out a crucial playoff-determining Week 17 game for the Steelers and quit on his team, which is a huge red flag.

If one player puts himself above the rest of his team, that’s going to lead to a lot of problems in terms of locker room culture.

Besides quitting on his team, Brown has recently gotten into a string of legal trouble. Last month, he was involved in an alleged domestic dispute, but no arrests were made. And Brown’s lawyer claims that the accuser’s allegations are completely false. If the 49ers do trade for him, it will be a situation to monitor.

Brown was also just found guilty of going over 100 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone, which is a very small offense in comparison to domestic issues, but still puts the receiver’s recent behavior in question.

Here’s the thing — Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have made it clear that they want the locker room to be filled with good guys to establish a good locker-room culture. It’s worked so far, because you can see all the players giving their all and playing for each other deep into lost seasons. It’s a fine testament to how well these players gel together, emotionally, and bringing in one “diva” in Brown can derail the entire thing.

And we all saw how much drama former 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster brought into the locker room.

Fortunately, the team stuck together admirably through it.

I honestly have no idea if the 49ers will trade for Brown or not. He has expressed his desire to play for San Francisco through social media, and he would take this team’s offense to the next level. However, his off-the-field baggage is risky, and perhaps the most discouraging thing about him is that he will turn 31 years old before the beginning of the 2019 season. This team is almost done with the rebuilding process, but it’s not out of the woods yet.

It seems like Brown would be a better fit for a team that is in a position to win now.

However, if the 49ers do decide to pull the trigger and trade for one of the top receivers in the game, the most they should give up is a third-round pick. Since Brown has publicly expressed his unhappiness with Pittsburgh like no other for the past couple of months, the Steelers essentially have no leverage.

Brown’s age and recent legal troubles will also drag his trade value down, so a third rounder should be the most the 49ers give up. A second rounder would be too much since San Francisco has an early second-round pick.

I’ve said a lot of negative things about Brown in this piece. But to be honest, I would be ecstatic if the 49ers decided to trade for him.

Who wouldn’t?

Brown is a big-name special talent that would provide a ton of help to this team that has recently struggled. Lynch just needs to get him at the right price.