Rosenhaus: Antonio Brown Had 'Robust' Market Before Signing Patriots Contract

Antonio Brown reportedly agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal with the New England Patriots on Saturday after his release from the Oakland Raiders, but the superstar wide receiver apparently had plenty of offers.

"Antonio had a robust free-agent market and certainly had a lot of options," his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said on SportsCenter. "But it was hard to compete with New England and that amazing opportunity, that great franchise, and play with one of the all-time greats, Tom Brady, and Bill Belichick."

Brown's time in Oakland mercifully came to an end after a drama-filled summer:

The Patriots are famous for having a no-nonsense, businesslike environment under Bill Belichick, one that has traditionally been devoid of drama. But Rosenhaus said Brown is ready for the Patriot Way:

"I'll just tell you that the Patriots are obviously a very solid, strong organization. They do things the Patriots Way. They expect everyone to be accountable. They don't make any exceptions. I've discussed this with Antonio. And he wants to be a Patriot. He's prepared to go there, fit in, work hard, be like every other player on the team, do what's asked of him, do his job and make it work. He's honored with the opportunity and he's looking forward to taking advantage of it."

The on-field fit should be less of an issue. Brown remains one of the most consistently productive receivers in the NFL, and he'll be working with the best quarterback of all time in Tom Brady. Suddenly, the Patriots offense looks like a matchup nightmare for teams.

Stop Brown, and you still have to contend with Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman, Demaryius Thomas, James White and Sony Michel. That's a lot of talent for one offense. 

But the drama with Oakland may not be concluded just yet, as the NFL.com's Ian Rapoport noted:

And Rosenhaus painted Brown's issues with Oakland as a bump in the road rather than a trend:

"You know there are trades that don't pan out. Relationships sometimes get off to a bad start and never recover. Unfortunately, this one just didn't work. I don't want the Raiders to get any flak for this because I just think it was a combination of bad luck and just bad circumstances.

"A lot of people focus on the last couple of months of dysfunction and things with Antonio. But what people should remember is that for eight years, he was one of the most rock-solid players in the league—on and off the field. I just don't want people to lose track of that."

That may be the case, but Brown has burned bridges in Pittsburgh and Oakland in the past year. If things go south in New England too, his market may be significantly less robust next time around.