NFL training camps are in full swing, and there a lot of faces in new places. Following a wild offseason that saw lucrative deals being handed out to receivers at an enormous clip, it’s now time for those players to live up to the new money and security they’ve received.
One of those players wearing new threads is wide receiver AJ Brown. The former Ole Miss Rebels standout played his first three seasons in Tennessee until a draft night trade sent him to the Eagles. As part of the deal, Brown received a whopper of a deal, securing a four-year, $100 million extension with $58 million guaranteed and $40 million due at signing.
AJ Brown speaks out on being traded 👀 pic.twitter.com/SMP18g08an
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) August 1, 2022
Brown was joined by draft mates Terry McLaurin (Commanders), DK Metcalf (Seahawks) and Deebo Samuel (Niners), who all had similar blockbuster contracts. The only difference is Brown happened to be traded to get his new deal. Since the trade, Brown has been rather quiet as he works to get acquainted with his new Eagles teammates. But following the announcement of Samuel getting his new deal over the weekend, Brown tweeted out some words directed at the Titans brass.
“Basically all 4 of us got the same contract and I’m the only one who got traded …. yeah keep believing it was me. Anywho Go Birds”
Seems like Brown believes the Titans were being cheap and instead of paying him they opted to trade him and draft rookie Treylon Burks from Arkansas as his replacement.
The 2019 receiver class got paid pic.twitter.com/BpbNHvrlL8
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) July 31, 2022
Brown Has Same Agent As Metcalf And Samuel
Brown, former Ole Miss teammate Metcalf and Samuel are all represented by CAA Sports and agent Tory Dandy. In fact, Dandy let it be known that all three weren’t against being traded if a deal couldn’t be met. Samuel was the only one who formally asked for a trade, but the Niners didn’t honor the request. But Brown was the only one actually moved, and from the sound of it he still isn’t too happy with how things ended in Nashville.
Brown was adamant on draft night that it wasn’t his fault he was dealt. He even tweeted “THIS WAS NOT MY FAULT” before deleting the tweet.
2019 Receiver Class Ranks High In AAV At The Position
Now that the talented quartet of pass-catchers have all cashed in, they rank in the top ten in average annual value for wide receivers in the league. With (Brown) fifth, (Metcalf) sixth, (Samuel) eighth and (McLaurin) ninth, they can all thank new Jaguars wideout Christian Kirk, who signed a four-year, $72 million contract after never posting a 1,000-yard season.
A whopping 11 (!) receivers have signed deals worth $20M or more per year this offseason:
Tyreek Hill
Davante Adams
Cooper Kupp
AJ Brown
Stefon Diggs
Deebo Samuel
DK Metcalf
Terry McLaurin
DJ Moore
Chris Godwin
Mike Williams— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) July 31, 2022
Next up should be Steelers wideout Diontae Johnson, who was also drafted in 2019 and boasts very similar numbers to these aforementioned pass-catchers. With QB and WR deals ballooning, franchises have to hope to see a considerable jump in the salary cap each season.
