(Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers. Photo by Keith Allison via wikimedia)
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Paula Lively via Flickr)
What is your goal? It’s a question many people ask of themselves and others. Businesses have goals, as well. Whether its production, sales, market saturation, etc., successful companies have targets they strive to achieve. In that vein, the Seattle Seahawks, as a business, have goals as well.
What are the Seahawks goals? Obviously, they want to be successful on the playing field. Success there leads to financial success off the field in areas such as ticket and merchandise sales. For example, winning a Super Bowl is the ultimate on-field success. It’s also a financial boon to an organization, to the tune of tens of millions, as sales go through the roof.
Sometimes an organization such as the Seattle Seahawks have other goals. Acting as a good corporate citizen is, or at least should be, a goal of every company. In a market as socially conscious as the Pacific Northwest, its even more important to be perceived as a good corporate citizen.
Many times those goals go hand-in-hand. Other times they don’t. What happens when those goals conflict—case in point, the Seahawks and wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Brown’s talent is undeniable. Six Pro Bowl and four All-Pro selections back that up, and his 828 career receptions are 29th all-time. If Brown has two more good seasons, and he becomes only the 15th man in league history to reach 1000 NFL catches. A two-time league leader for single-season receptions, Brown has six 100-catch seasons under his belt. Finally, the man scores touchdowns, 75 to be exact, which ties him with Hall-of-Famer James Lofton for 34th all-time.
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Paula Lively via Flickr)
If Antonio Brown is a Hall of Fame talent on the field, he’s also a world-class pain in the butt, off of it. The receiver forced his way off a winning team in Pittsburgh, smack in the middle of a four-year, $68M contract. The Steelers traded him to Oakland in March of 2019, where he (a) proceeded to take every possible shot possible at the Steelers, and (b) made life miserable for Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock (including a threatened physical assault). Before playing a game in black and silver, the Raiders released him.
After all that, the disgruntled free agent still went on social media to badmouth anyone and everyone, he felt wronged him. Brown made more headlines as a non-player than he ever did with a ball in his hands. Even with the baggage, New England of all teams took a chance on him, which meant doing it the Patriots way. An alternate term for do your job and don’t embarrass the team.
The experiment lasted a week. Rape allegations surfaced against Brown, going back to his days at Central Michigan University. The receiver made his situation worse by allegedly trying to intimidate the victim via text message. New England couldn’t keep him on the team after that, despite four receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown in his Pats debut.
If you’re counting at home, that’s one paragraph totaling 74 words about Brown’s outstanding career. Additionally, there are 220 words in three paragraphs about what a rotten teammate and person he is. All of which brings the conversation to the present.
Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll.
Antonio Brown wants to play for the Seattle Seahawks. The team has an interest in him as well. Head coach Pete Carroll has said the team inquired about Brown when Oakland released him. Additionally, reports have come out that the organization had internal discussions about him this offseason.
Seattle’s backup quarterback Geno Smith has practiced with Brown during the extended COVID-19 break. Last week, Brown posted a video of him in San Diego. catching passes from Russell Wilson. The Seattle signal-caller has a clean public image, yet he wasn’t afraid to work with Brown and has advocated for more talent at the receiver position, to run an up-tempo offense. Even Seahawks Pro Bowl cornerback Shaquill Griffin tweeted that he’d love to work with Brown.
The Seattle Seahawks, specifically Carrol, GM John Schneider, and Team President Chuck Arnold, have some important decisions to make regarding their goals. There is no doubt a receiver of Antonio Brown’s caliber can help the team win. He could be the missing piece that puts Seattle among the NFL’s elite offenses.
On the other hand, the talented wide receiver has been a locker room distraction, public relations nightmare, and still has the rape case pending. There will be a negative firestorm and protests from groups vehemently and vocally opposed to employing someone accused of sexual misconduct. Even if the Seattle Seahawks get that far, Brown could still be suspended by the league under its “Personal Conduct” policy, whether or not he is found guilty of the crime.
So what are the Seattle Seahawks’ goals? If it’s contending for the Lombardi Trophy, then they can’t pass on a talent like Brown. If they want to be a leading force for good in the community, he can’t be part of their team.
It will be interesting to see which way the scale tips. Not to mention how the team handles the public relations headache that ensues as a result of their decision, either way.
What say you 12s, should the Seattle Seahawks sign Antonio Brown? Let us know in the comments section below or on social media.