In a season filled with episodes of visual frustration, Antonio Brown has made headlines again after a wild week. Following a dispute on Wednesday’s walk-through practice, Brown got so heated he walked out and skipped each practice leading up to the teams Week 17 matchup. After skipping Saturday’s walk through and team meeting, in addition to not responding to any teammates’ or coaches’ attempts to communicate with Brown, the wide receiver showed up on Sunday expecting to start.
Brown did not play on Sunday, however. In fact, he left the stadium by half time and CBS reported on Tuesday that he even requested a trade.
Under Brown’s current contract, including the 4-year, $68 million extension he signed this offseason, keeps him on the Steelers through 2021, but that doesn’t mean Brown doesn’t have the right to look around. The NFL already offers a pension plan to retired players as well as a generous 401(k) plan, but Brown is obviously looking to be fiscally responsible while still active. His trade request, however, is one that comes at a difficult time given the current economic standing.
First there’s the question of what to trade? Securities? Bonds? Cryptocurrencies? Mutual funds? ETFs? It’s a tough question that multiple people will give different answers to. The stock market has been unreliable recently. In 2018, the DOW’s top four point drops in a single day occurred. Cryptocurrencies on the other hand are no longer as hot as they were this time last year – Bitcoin has dropped quite a bit since it reached an all time high in December of 2017. Mutual funds and bonds are two of the more safer options when it comes to investing, but with the economy due for a recession based on the macroeconomic warning signs, threats of trade wards, and current fiscal stimulus-policies pointing towards unsustainable growth, Brown is in the right state of mind to at least consider some sort of trade.
Many NFL insiders are speculating that Browns recent dispute with teammate Ben Roethlisberger came as a result of him shopping around certain trades. Roethlisberger is a notable investor in the real estate and restaurant industry, owning various properties including his own restaurant in Miami.
At the end of the day, it’s up to Brown and his team of financial advisors whether or not he should buy Amazon (AMZN), sell Twitter (TWTR), or short Facebook (FB). That being said, his desire to invest sure is breaking some major waves amongst the sports media, who genuinely cannot get enough of Brown’s alleged investing habits.
