Titans fans were surprised on Thursday night during the NFL draft when it was announced that A.J. Brown was traded to the Eagles. He has reportedly agreed to a four-year, $100 million deal with his new team.
The star receiver wasn’t expected to be traded, especially after coach Mike Vrabel made it clear that the team wouldn’t try to trade him as long as he was on staff. And, Vrabel said the Titans “went to the extreme to try and keep Brown.”
However, Brown told ESPN on Friday what his decision boiled down to.
“This wasn’t my fault,” Brown said. “I wanted to stay, but the deal they offered was a low offer. The deal they offered wasn’t even $20 million a year.”
The star receiver said the annual salary was around $16 million with the Titans’ proposed extension, with incentives increasing the deal to around $20 million a year. If he would have stayed in Tennessee, he would have only earned around $4 million in 2022 in his fourth year of his rookie contract.
Apparently, the Titans’ offer was a few million per year shy of what Brown was looking for.
“I would have stayed if they offered me $22 million,” Brown said.
Instead, Brown was dealt to the Eagles, with whom he will earn around $25 million a year.
Last season, Brown had 63 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns in 13 games. Despite missing a few games, Brown still accounted for 23% of the Titans’ total receiving yards, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Brown surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in his first two years in the league.
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