There appears to be a financial tie to last week’s Antonio Brown Facebook Live incident. You remember the scuttlebutt that ensued when Brown posted a video of the Steelers post game locker room, which included head coach Mike Tomlin calling the Steelers a**holes. Well, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Brown has a six figure marketing deal with Facebook.
The Steelers are still “investigating” the incident, whatever that means. Brown is likely to face some sort of fine. Maybe the Silicon Valley tech giant can pick up the fine for Brown, who is one of the most underpaid players in the NFL (relative to his production); earning a base salary of $1.275 million this season.
The NFL and its old school management need to start becoming aware of a new reality. The league’s young stars were born in the digital age. The ways in which they communicate revolve around social media and sharing. More off field sponsorships will include tech companies and social media platforms. That means more of the league will be on display. A thought that no doubt frightens the old school conservative league.