Wide receivers and contract squabbles happen often enough in Pittsburgh. It’s a good problem to have, because it means the team has at least one good wide receiver. He wouldn’t be brazen enough to demand more money unless he was worth it.

Antonio Brown is worth it. So was Hines Ward in 2005. Mike Wallace may not have been worth the $60 million deal he eventually signed with the Dolphins, but he was worth more than the restricted free agency tender he was given by the Steelers.

Ward and Wallace both missed at least a portion of training camp – Wallace skipped all of it in 2012.

Brown’s situation is different. He already signed a high-dollar contract extension. Incidentally, the money that had been reportedly earmarked for Wallace went to Brown as soon as Wallace turned their offer down.

Word was Wallace turned down a $50 million deal over five years. The Steelers shortened that up a bit, down to $41.7 million, kept the same amount of years but only gave him a signing bonus of $8.5 million.

So Brown got the lesser deal, and he’s outplayed that deal in the first three years of it. It’s understandable why he wants to make the point now that he expects to be paid as one of the best wide receivers in the league.

That’s reasonable because he is, in fact, one of the best receivers in the league. When Randall Cobb gets paid more than him, something’s not lining up correctly.

That’s how the market works, and while the Steelers had leverage over Brown, who was playing on a rookie contract he signed as a sixth round pick in 2010.

It’s clear why he took the contract he was given, but the team flashed the best deal he was going to be offered, which was not necessarily one he could have gotten on the open market. Hindsight is 20/20, and after two seasons in which Brown broke the team’s previous receiving yards record twice and the single season receptions record once, he wants to take a public stance of displeasure with what’s left on his contract.

Ward and Wallace skipped mandatory practice. Brown is skipping what he’s not obligated to attend.

Message delivered. Stay tuned, though, because a big piece of the Steelers’ rebuilt salary cap depends on Brown remaining relatively affordable over the next two seasons.