The Pittsburgh Steelers, like every team in the NFL, have had to say goodbye to quality talent due to financial reasons. In 2019, Pittsburgh had to make the choice to re-sign Javon Hargrave or extend Cam Heyward. They clearly chose the latter, and Hargrave left to join the Philadelphia Eagles. The same thing happened with Bud Dupree when he left Pittsburgh after the 2020 season. The salary cap forces teams to make difficult decisions, which caused Pittsburgh to lose an All-Pro defender in the 1990s.
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Steelers' former linebacker Chad Brown during the 2006 season.
The Steelers lost in the Divisional Round of the 1996 NFL playoffs, and then went on to lose one of the team's most important players that offseason. Chad Brown was a linebacker for the Steelers that the team selected in the second round of the 1993 NFL Draft.
He had a decent start to his career during his rookie season in 1993, where he started just nine games but recorded 69 tackles, three sacks and forced two fumbles. His production increased each year, and after his rookie contract expired, he left Pittsburgh to sign with the Seattle Seahawks.
Former Seahawks executive, Randy Mueller, told the story of how Seattle landed Brown in a recent interview with The Hawks Nest.
"We actually picked Chad up in a jet at midnight when free agency started in Denver, and his agent, Peter Schaffer. Brought them to Seattle, thinking that we had to be first, we had to throw our biggest offer at him, and if he left, it was going to be for risky for him to get that somewhere else."
Brown was a part of some special Steelers defenses, but Seattle had their eyes set on him and didn't want to lose him to another organization. Getting him to Seattle the moment free agency began is by no means against the NFL's policy, but it does seem a little shady, and makes it seem like the two sides had been in contact previously. Mueller continued, and spoke about how they got Brown to sign his contract.
"Mickey Loomis was our contract and cap guy, the longtime GM of the Saints. Mickey and I were working on this deal with Peter, and we actually slid a check for $7 million across the table in front of Chad. He was scheduled to go to Carolina the next day to make a visit there, and we said, 'That's fine, you can go to Carolina, but you're gonna be walking away from $7 million on this check', and it was a legitimate check, it was gonna be his signing bonus."
Mueller basically admits to tampering, as the Seahawks organization was working on a deal with Brown's agent ahead of the start of free agency. The NFL has since fixed this problem with the legal tampering period being instituted in 2012. This could be considered a back door deal that happened before the start of the NFL's free agency period, which Seattle would have been punished for had they been caught at the time.
Seattle Seahawks
Former Steelers linebacker Chad Brown.
Steelers Lost A Lot Of Production Due To Tampering
Brown was so sought after following his last season with Pittsburgh because he recorded 13 sacks, three forced fumbles, two interceptions and 81 total tackles. These numbers earned him his first Pro Bowl bid, and he was also named an All-Pro while finishing fourth in Defensive Player Of The Year voting. It's understandable why the Seahawks bent the rules in order to land him on a six-year, $24 million deal which included the $7 million signing bonus Mueller mentioned.
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Steelers' Chad Brown warming up prior to a game during the 2006 season.
The Seahawks under the table moves seemed to pay off, as Brown was named an All-Pro once again during the 1998 season. He also made two Pro Bowls with Seattle, and wound up signing an extension when his initial deal expired. Brown finished his career with a couple stints with the New England Patriots, while also rejoining the Steelers for the 2006 season.
