Free-agent cornerback Tarell Brown signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal to remain in the Bay Area, jumping from the 49ers to the Raiders. So if that’s what Oakland offered to get Brown, what did the 49ers pony up to keep him?
“[I]t wasn’t what I wanted and it was to me more of a slap in the face,” Brown told Erik Kuselias of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN. “But I understand that it’s a business and I understand that they have to do what is best for them and it’s no hard feelings. But what they offered me definitely wasn’t what I wanted and definitely wasn’t worth my value of what I’ve done in this league and how well I played these past 3-4 years in the league. So it’s understandable and like I said there’s never any hard feelings. They are doing a great job over there and I wish them the best.”
Brown exercised admirable restraint, given that the 49ers failed to tell Brown last year that he was blowing $2 million in base salary by not participating in the offseason workout program. (The team said it didn’t know Brown was in danger of losing the money, but few in league circles believe that.)
While the team eventually gave Brown a $300,000 bonus, he was still $1.7 million short. Surely, he was hoping the team would further make it right during negotiations. Based on his description of the offer, the 49ers surely didn’t.