The Pittsburgh Steelers and Antonio Brown have reached agreement on a four-year, $68 million deal that makes him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

He is now tied to the Steelers through the 2021 season. He tweeted after he signed his new deal, which is front-loaded with Brown standing to make less money in the fourth and final year of the extension. The breakdown: Brown will make $18.5 million in the first three-years of the contract and $12.5 million in the fourth, sources told Schefter.

Steelers for life #Boomin pic.twitter.com/LYcCi4fW8U

— Antonio Brown (@AntonioBrown) February 27, 2017

The Steelers announced the extension as a five-year deal. Brown contract for the 2017 season, with a scheduled base salary of $4.7 million, stands as is, the sources told Schefter.

The Steelers had promised to rework Brown’s contract this offseason. They restructured his contract last August, advancing $4 million of his 2017 salary into his base salary for 2016.

Brown, 28, is considered one of the best receivers in the league and has been a key piece of the Steelers’ offense for the past several seasons. He had one year left on a five-year, $42 million contract he signed in 2012.

A 2010 sixth-round pick out of Central Michigan, Brown has been to five Pro Bowls and has earned three first-team All-Pro nods in his seven seasons. He led the league with 1,698 receiving yards in 2014.

He is the first player in Steelers history to finish with 1,000 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns in three straight seasons.

Brown drew the ire of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin for posting a Facebook Live video from the locker room after a win against the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs that caught Tomlin’s postgame speech, but the incident appears to have been put to rest.

ESPN’s Katherine Terrell contributed to this report.

The reality of the situation continues to be apparent: It’s hard to see the marriage between Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins lasting beyond 2017. His price tag remains high; their love for him has a financial ceiling. And neither side appears willing to budge from its stance.

This really isn’t a case of both sides wanting to break away from each other. According to multiple people, Cousins likes playing in Washington. According to multiple people in the organization, the team truly likes Cousins. But the leverage Cousins enjoys isn’t about to change, and the Redskins clearly aren’t prepared to pay him what he thinks he can get.

That’s why with all the options as to what can happen if he’s tagged by Wednesday’s deadline, one has a higher percentage of happening: a trade. The NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah said last week that he thought there was a better chance that Cousins would be traded than that he would return. It’s hard to argue against that, and some close to Cousins say that’s what the Redskins want to do anyway, knowing that signing him to a long-term deal will be difficult. It may even be impossible, given their different positions on what his ability is worth.

As of now, some in his camp view any deal reached at the July 15 deadline as an impossibility. It certainly would take an increased offer by Washington. I don’t know that this is a universal opinion in Cousins’ camp, but the point is that based on the Redskins’ actions to date, there’s no reason to believe their offer will increase that much. They clearly view him as good, not great. And there’s no reason for Cousins to lower what he believes he should get.

There’s also the matter of past slights still bugging Cousins, including an initial offer last offseason of $12 million per year with low guarantees. It was bad at the time; it’s ridiculous now. Had the Redskins given him $18 million per year – before the Brock Osweiler deal with Houston – with solid guarantees, then there’s a good chance he would have signed (but impossible to truly know). That deal would look mighty good now.

The first round of the 2017 NFL draft has been set since Super Bowl LI’s epic finish, but the league has now released the complete draft order for April’s draft, with one exception: the Colts and Vikings still need to flip a coin to determine their picks in the middle of each round. The coin flip is expected to happen at the NFL combine, which begins this week.

Check out the full list below.

Three teams were forced to forfeit picks:

Note: An asterisk denotes the pick is a compensatory selection.

Round 1: April 27, 8 p.m. ET
Rds. 2-3: April 28, 7 p.m. ET
Rds. 4-7: April 29, noon ET
Where: Philadelphia

• 

  With the scouting combine kicking off, NFL Nation reporters take a look at all 32 teams’ positions of need — pass-rushers are in demand — and which players they’ll evaluate closely.

• 

  The annual scouting combine kicks off this week in Indianapolis, and 300 players will audition in front of NFL coaches, scouts and GMs. Check out ESPN.com’s coverage of the event.

Permitting Alshon Jeffery to reach free agency hurts the Chicago Bears on multiple levels.

Say what you want about Jeffery’s past two seasons — derailed because of injuries and suspension — but he’s an accomplished and coveted player. Jeffery averaged 72.2 receiving yards per game for the Bears; only Brandon Marshall (78.3) averaged more per game in team history (32-game minimum). Wide receivers like Jeffery, 27, rarely hit free agency — most teams go out of their way to extend No. 1 receivers. There will be substantial interest in Jeffery’s services beginning March 9, and the Bears’ reluctance to engage in any recent meaningful contract talks puts them at a disadvantage. Jeffery wants to play for a contender and will strongly explore all options.

Without Jeffery, the Bears are vulnerable at wide receiver.

The franchise hasn’t abandoned hope of 2015 first-round pick Kevin White developing into a star player. Unfortunately, White has suffered two separate season-ending injuries to the same leg since the Bears drafted him. There is no way of knowing if he’ll ever pan out. Veteran Eddie Royal has enjoyed a fruitful NFL career, but he has been unable to stay healthy the past two years. Royal — in the final year of his contract — is set to earn $5 million, but none of it is guaranteed. Former seventh-rounder Marquess Wilson, who is seemingly always hurt, is coming out of his original rookie contract. Receivers such as Josh Bellamy (restricted free agent) and Deonte Thompson (exclusive rights free agent), who played large roles in 2017, are better suited for special teams. Daniel Braverman, Chicago’s 2016 seventh-round choice, barely played last year as a rookie.

Speaking of quarterback, the Bears are moving on from Cutler and therefore are expected to have a new starter in Week 1. If the new quarterback happens to be a younger player, or maybe even Jimmy Garoppolo, whom is he supposed to throw the ball to? The Bears plan to prioritize an offseason quarterback upgrade, yet allow the club’s most decorated receiver to walk away for nothing? Even a veteran bridge quarterback — Brian Hoyer, for example — can thrive only with quality receivers.