Steelers’ Brown weighs holdout

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

PITTSBURGH

The Steelers already have lost their All-Pro halfback for the first three games of the season pending Le’Veon Bell’s appeal of his recent suspension. Now they could lose their All-Pro wide receiver for a stretch.

Antonio Brown, who is under contract for three more seasons, has asked the Steelers for a new contract and is prepared to sit out until he gets one.

The Steelers have long had a policy that they will not negotiate new contracts with players until they reach the final year of their current deal. Exceptions were made for their starting quarterbacks, which they have reworked with two years remaining on their deal. However, even Ben Roethlisberger waited until the final season of his contract before he signed a five-year, $99 million deal last month.

Fox Sports originally broke the news that Brown will not attend the Steelers’ voluntary conditioning program and is considering holding out of required minicamp in June and training camp which starts in late July.

Brown, who is represented by agent Drew Rosenhaus, did not attend Monday’s start of the voluntary conditioning program at the Steelers facility on the South Side.

Brown led the NFL with 129 receptions and 1,698 yards last season, both Steelers records. He is scheduled to earn a $6 million salary and count $9.8 million against the team’s salary cap in 2015. He is to earn a salary of $8,250,000 in 2016 and $8,710,000 in 2017.

He signed a six-year, $43 million contract during the 2012 training camp after Mike Wallace turned down their offer in the final year of his contract.