Jun 28, 2016 3 min read

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I was on vacation last week and went off the grid for the first time in a long time. It was fabulous.

But reality pulled me back in today when I saw that Seattle signed Doug Baldwin to a 4-year, $46-million contract extension with $24 million guaranteed.

Doug Baldwin!!!

Yes, Baldwin had a decent season in 2015, setting career highs with 78 catches, 1,069 yards and 14 touchdowns. But he’ll be 28 in September and his previous career highs were 66 catches, 825 yards and five scores.

His 274 catches in five professional seasons are nine more than Antonio Brown had . . . wait for it – IN THE PAST TWO SEASONS.

Brown, who is two months older than Baldwin, still has two more seasons remaining on his contract with the Steelers. He’ll make $6.25 million in 2016 and $8.71 million in 2017, unless the Steelers re-work his deal at some point to get him some additional money.

And this is where the problem lies with professional sports and contracts.

Brown, thus far, has been quiet about his contract situation. And the Steelers did free up some additional cash for him last year.

But when the Doug Baldwins of the world are getting ridiculous contracts, it’s only natural for a player such as Brown, who is arguably the top receiver in the game, to say, ‘Hey, wait a minute!’

Yes, Brown signed his contract. And the Steelers took a chance on him back in 2012 when they made him a multi-millionaire.

There comes a time, however, when right is right. And the Steelers should probably do something with the guy who is arguably their best player and one of the top 10 players in the league, regardless of position.

As things currently stand, Brown will be the 18th-highest paid player in the NFL at his position, with guys such as Baldwin, Allen Hurns, Michael Crabtree and Pierre Garcon all making more than him in 2016.

Brown hasn’t shown any displeasure at that fact yet. But don’t be surprised if, at some point, he does.

The Steelers can’t do anything about other teams overpaying for their talent. And I’m sure Art Rooney II and Kevin Colbert cringed when they saw Baldwin’s deal.

But they can do something about keeping Brown happy. And that’s crucial for the long-term well being of this team.

• I did a guest segment with Adam Crowley on ESPN Pittsburgh today and he asked me my thoughts on the James Harrison situation.

I gave a 10-minute answer to the question that probably really didn’t answer it to anyone’s satisfaction.

I’m torn on the problem because, on one hand, the league has to take charges of its players being involved with PEDs seriously, even though the “source” in the national report later recanted his statement.

At the same time, if I’m the players involved, I’m wondering where the line is drawn on this kind of stuff.

If I’ve never tested positive for anything and somebody on Twitter accuses me of taking PEDs, is the league going to call me in?

I guess what I’m saying here is that I can see this issue from both sides. And I don’t know that there’s a good answer to solving this.