The Facts: Brown said he never planned to hold out but made it clear Sunday the Steelers should give him a new contract. "You have to take care of your guys," Brown said after Sunday's practice. "If a guy underperforms, you get rid of him. If a guy overperforms, you take care of him."
Diehards Line:
Brown, who said agent Drew Rosenhaus is expected to meet with the Steelers, was responding to a question about whether he should be the exception to the Steelers' long-standing policy not to renegotiate contracts for non-quarterbacks unless a player has one year left on his contract. Brown is due $6.25 million in the fifth year of a six-year, $43 million contract. He has caught an NFL-record 264 passes in the past two seasons. Still, Brown ranks 13th among wide receivers in 2016 base salary. His $8.392 million per-year average, including signing bonus money, ranks 19th among receivers. Brown, who turned 28 on July 10, said he's not worried about the particulars of a potential new deal, only getting better. "I'm a first-class guy in the relationship [with the Steelers], and the first step to getting better is showing up," Brown said. We'll see if he continues to do that.