Some surprising news on Friday as it has been announced that the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed wide receiver Antonio Brown to a five-year, $42.5 million contract extension.
Brown was entering the final year of his rookie contract and would have been a restricted free agent following the 2012 season. Brown busted onto the scene in 2011 by registering 69 catches for 1,108 yards. The team MVP also added 737 yards on 27 kickoff returns and another 325 yards on 30 punt returns.
Brown was drafted by the Steelers as their second of two selections in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft out of Central Michigan.
The amount guaranteed in the new deal is not yet known at this time. The first year cap hit, depending on the breakdown of the contract, still should give the Steelers plenty of cap space to sign restricted free agent Mike Wallace to a long-term deal. As of Friday, Wallace still had not signed his one-year tender worth $2.74 million and reported to camp.
ETA: OK deal includes $8.5 million signing bonus and 2012 base salary of just $540,000. 2012 cap hit on Brown only around $2.2424 million. Still plenty of room for Wallace.
