Julio Jones and Dez Bryant aren't the only big-name wideouts netting pay bumps ahead of the regular season.
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that the Pittsburgh Steelers employed some creative bookkeeping to float Pro Bowl receiver Antonio Brown a $2 million raise for 2015.
The team restructured Brown's contract to turn cash from his 2016 base salary into a 2015 signing bonus that can be prorated over the next two years. Brown will now make $8 million this season, temporarily putting to bed whispers of him sitting out.
Brown had mulled a holdout, per Rapoport, but showed up to camp in hopes that Pittsburgh would take care of him. That happened Tuesday in the latest example of the club restructuring deals to create cap room. The Steelers also reworked the contracts of tight end Heath Miller and kicker Shaun Suisham.
With Brown now set to make just $6.25 million in 2016 and $8.71 million in 2017, we fully expect the sixth-year star to threaten a holdout next offseason. With cashbeing thrown in bunches at today's top receivers, Brown will want a bigger piece of the pie sooner than later.
