Getty Kansas City Chiefs left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. on August 20, 2021.
The Kansas City Chiefs and starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. were unable to come to an agreement on a long-term deal prior to the July 15, 4 p.m. eastern time deadline, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
On top of that, Brown still hasn’t signed his franchise tender with the Chiefs, which would pay him a fully guaranteed $16.7 million for the 2022 season, per Pelissero. Not signing his tender also means if Brown wants to sit out training camp this summer he can’t be fined by the team for doing so.
#Chiefs franchise-tagged OT Orlando Brown Jr.’s agent, Michael Portner, tells me the sides weren’t able to reach a long-term deal.
KC offered Brown the highest signing bonus and APY on 6-year deal, but Brown’s team decided there wasn’t enough security over the life of the deal.
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The deal Kansas City offered Brown was essentially a five-year contract that would have paid him $91 million, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Media. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated also shared that Kansas City’s offer to Brown included $38 million fully guaranteed and $52 million in injury guarantees.
The Chiefs were willing to guarantee his money through the 2023 season, per Garafolo. However, Brown and his agent, Michael Portner of Delta Sports Group, felt that the contract didn’t provide much stability for the left tackle in the backend of the deal, according to Pelissero.
“We got really close,” Portner told Pelissero. “We dealing with the Chiefs and we understand their position as well. I’m not gonna let these athletes sign a flashy contract without the substance or security there.”
Portner: “We got really close. We dealing with the Chiefs and we understand their position as well. I’m not gonna let these athletes sign a flashy contract without the substance or security there.”
In wake of Brown rejecting Kansas City’s long-term offer and not yet signing his franchise tender, the Chiefs’ front office has spoken up about their thoughts regarding Brown.
Chiefs Frustrated Over Brown’s Decision
While appearing on NFL Network, NFL Media’s Jeffri Chadiha shared what he’s hearing from the Chiefs regarding Brown rejecting the team’s long-term offer.
“There was frustration and there was disappointment,” Chadiha said of the Chiefs on July 19. “They really like Orlando Brown Jr. and they love having him be a part of this team, but the money he was asking for was too high for them. They don’t want to not have stability at left tackle here, but they also don’t want to pay top-of-the-market money for a player that they don’t think is the best player at his position in the NFL.”
Chadiha also shared some strong remarks from one Kansas City front office person.
“One front office person said, ‘This isn’t the same guy that we traded for.’ The feeling there is that when they got him from Baltimore is that he was going to be a team player and work with them on a team-friendly type of deal. That was not the case. Right now we’re looking at a situation where Orlando Brown probably won’t be there for training camp and maybe won’t be there for Week 1.”
On NFL Network, @jeffrichadiha shared what one #Chiefs front office person told him about Brown rejecting KC’s long-term deal:
“This isn’t the guy we traded for.”
This is in reference to Brown coming to KC as a team player that was willing to work out a team-friendly deal.
Twitter Reacts to Brown News
Twitter users reacted to Chadiha reporting the Chiefs’ comments about Brown.
“Why as a front office would you count on a player to take a pay cut? Seriously if this is how the Chiefs evaluate & make trades, somebody needs to lose their job. This is now the second time we have traded our 1st round pick for a guy who hasn’t met expectations,” one Twitter user wrote.
“This is a bad process by KC. Don’t ever expect a player to take a team friendly deal. They did it correct and not giving him a record setting deal but assuming he would is not smart,” another user wrote.
“Aye it is what it is man, give us a good year and do what you gotta do we got business to take care of this year,” another user wrote.