Rumblings began to surface that Antonio Brown took note of the new money hitting the receiver market and would want to get in on it soon enough. Brown had just signed a five-year, $72.7 million extension a year earlier, but there was a vision.

Brown would cash in again.nike nfl jerseys cheap china

Less than seven months later, Brown was posting pictures of agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus working at a table at Brown’s home as the Steelers were inching closer to trading the All-Pro receiver. Drew Rosenhaus and Brown can hammer out parameters for a new deal with his new team — despite having three years left on his contract.

To be sure, the notion that Brown sought a trade and publicly criticized his team solely over a new deal is misguided. Brown’s issues with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers mushroomed throughout the season, and Brown — tired of feeling like a scapegoat for the Steelers’ problems — sought a chance to remind people that he’s a transcendent talent, not a Steelers creation.

But the parallel of Brown’s impending uniform change and the lack of guaranteed money on his three remaining contract years is hard to ignore.

Brown, who calls himself an entrepreneur, used the turmoil as a contractual springboard.

He’s working the system.china nike nfl jerseys cheap

The merits of Brown’s unpredictability over the past few months can be debated, but through the prism of NFL business, Brown is attempting to pull off something quite difficult — treating himself like a free agent in the middle of a long-term extension.

And he seems to be getting away with it. He made himself untenable in Pittsburgh, and he has made himself untenable elsewhere without new money.