BROWN CAN’T STOP BURNING BRIDGES
Receiver goes after NFL and its owners regarding guaranteed money
So that’s it, that’s all, the controversial football career of Antonio Brown — who is as graceful, spectacular and prolific on the field as he seems to be immature, awkward and just plain dopey off it — is tout fini.
Good riddance, you say? Or perhaps you don’t believe it for a minute.
Well, it might depend on if Brown turns out to be a man of his word. He hung up his cleats with comments on social media Sunday morning — a day and a bit after being released by the New England Patriots and politely thanking them for the opportunity. He once again proved incapable of keeping his mouth shut.
Setting Brown off this time, it seems, is the realization that US$29.125 million in guaranteed money from the Oakland Raiders and a $9 million signing bonus from the Patriots is expected to be rescinded.
He plans to get his union to fight for the cash, and while some league executives believe he has a case, it would be an injustice if he won.
In a run-on sentence (to which we’re adding punctuation for clarity) before the meaty portion of Week 3’s schedule began, Brown stated:
“Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore. These owners can cancel deals, do whatever they want, at anytime. We will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable. Sad they can just void guarantees going on 40 (million) (over) 2 months. Will see if they pay up!”
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Brown would have been suiting up for the Patriots in their 30-14 win over the New York Jets later that day had he not sent intimidating group text messages to a female artist who accused him of unwanted sexual advances last week.
“That crossed the line,” a source told Schefter. “This was real evidence.”
Brown is also being sued by his former trainer, Britney Taylor, over multiple allegations of sexual assault.
If the former Pittsburgh Steelers superstar wide receiver proves to be innocent, another team might decide to offer him a fourth chance. Some owners will risk almost anything to win.
On Saturday, Brown’s agent told Schefter that he has heard from “a few teams that are interested” in his client. A Schefter source also said that some in the NFL believe it’s unlikely Brown would sign with another team until the league’s investigation is resolved.
The NFL has stated that the investigation into Brown is “ongoing and will be pursued vigorously and expeditiously,” adding that the 31-year old, who is 34th on the league’s list of all time receiving yards, would not be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list while a free agent.
“If he is signed by a club, such placement may become appropriate at any time depending on the status of the investigation,” the league statement read.
What other options does Brown have, should he want to keep playing? Probably none.
A spokesman for the fledgling XFL has told Pro Football Talk that the league is not interested in Brown, and there’s no way the Canadian Football League would be, either — even if the Gliebermans still owned a team. CFL commissioner Rand Ambroise would simply not allow such a bad act into his show.
If Brown is indeed done, it’s not without taking some shots at Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on his way out the door.
In more tweets Sunday morning that were later deleted, Brown referred to Kraft’s ongoing case in which he was charged with solicitation for allegedly receiving a sex act at a Florida massage parlour, and the four-game suspension his ex-teammate received in 2010 for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy based on a sexual assault accusation. (We’ll add more punctuation marks this time for clarity).
“Kraft got caught in the parlour,” AB tweeted.
“Different strokes, different folks clearly,” Brown typed, later adding: “4 games for Big Ben. Crazy world. I’m done with it.”
According to the website Celebrity Net Worth, Brown will leave with $25 million in cash and total assets — not including the almost $40 million that is being contested from the Raiders and Pats. The real “crazy” part is he could have made so much more — and left the NFL world with a reputation as one of the game’s all-time greats — if he was half as good off the field as he is on it. dbrennan@postmedia.com