Antonio Browns' fall from grace

Antonio Brown is never far from the news these days, very rarely for the right reasons. Most recently he made headlines for describing his ex-quarterback Tom Brady as, "selfish," in a bizarre rant on X.

Bronw's accusations were mostly based on his belief Brady continued to play for as long as he did to ensure he ended his career with the best stats. "you think he didn’t play longer then drew Brees to past [sic] his stats ok."

This is quite the turn for Brown who used to live with Brady when they first played together, but since then their relationship has soured.

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According to Brown, things took a downward turn after Brady called Brown's agent and "cursed him out" as Brown was renegotiating his deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per CBS Sports from the "Million Dollaz Worth of Game" podcast. This is not Brown's first brush with controversy, so let's take a deeper look at his career and what led to this point.

Possibly considered the best wide receiver on the planet in his prime, Antonio Brown had the world at his feet. An unheralded college player taken late in the NFL draft, Brown has Hall of Fame-level statistics and a Super Bowl ring to boot, so why is he viewed by so many as a potentially wasted talent? Let’s take a look at Brown’s career, both on and off the field and why no team is willing to take a risk on him anymore.

After leaving Miami Norland High School in Florida, Brown had no scholarship offers, with academic issues causing most schools unwilling to take a risk on him. Eventually walking on at Central Michigan, Brown became a key member of their offense, breaking the all-time school record for receptions.

Despite his impressive college career and more than useful combine numbers, Brown was viewed as a late-round pick by many in the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers were already loaded at WR so taking a flyer on a talented player late made sense. Taken in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL draft, Brown joined a receiving core featuring Hines Ward, Mike Wallace and Antwan Randle El.

Brown’s rookie year was unspectacular, buried deep on the depth chart, he only caught 16 receptions for 167 yards. He was able to show off his dynamic running with a kickoff return touchdown in his first game as a pro. His 2nd season in the league was his true breakout, averaging over 16 yards per catch and with more than 1,000 receiving yards, the Steelers had found themselves a gem.

Never an organization to let talent slip through their fingers, Pittsburgh were quick to secure Brown to a long-term contract, worth over $40 million. Brown repaid the Steelers’ faith in him with dominant season after dominant season. Partnering with ‘Big Ben’ Roethlisberger, the duo formed perhaps the most explosive QB/WR pairing in the league between 2012-2018.

Despite featuring on the cover of Madden NFL 19 and completing another truly dominant season as the number 1 receiving option in the Steel City, Brown ended the season on the bench. Following a fight with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Brown skipped practices before the team’s final game of the season. Rumors spread of unhappiness at having a reduced role with Juju Smith-Schuster taking more and more targets.

Following his benching and falling out with teammates, Brown was vocal about his desire to leave the Steelers organization. With a deal seemingly in place with the Buffalo Bills, Brown took to social media to suggest this wasn’t the case, mocking the Bills franchise along the way. Eventually swapped for the relatively paltry sum of 3rd and 5th-round draft picks, Brown found himself in Oakland as a Raider.

Oakland and Brown never seemed like a great fit, a dysfunctional franchise with a head coach and general manager, who, in recent years, were more known for their TV coverage than running an NFL franchise, the chances of Brown returning to his former greatness seemed slim.

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Despite assurances from Brown that he was there to help the team and was desperate to ‘elevate everything around him’, he was notably absent from the Raiders’ preseason training camp. After a great deal of speculation, it was revealed that during a cryotherapy session, popular amongst athletes for recovery, Brown had not worn the correct footwear, resulting in frostbitten feet leaving him unable to train.

As part of their efforts to improve the safety of the sport, the NFL has a strict policy on which helmets you can and can’t wear. After 10 years of use, Brown’s helmet of choice was deemed unsafe for wear and promptly banned. Despite threats of retiring if this wasn’t overturned and motions filed to allow a similar style of helmet, Brown eventually chose to wear an approved piece of head protection.

Following the frostbite and helmet-related issues, Brown was fined $54,000 by his general manager for team practices. Following the fine, Brown chose to physically confront Mayock, threatening to punch him as a result of his fine.

Despite assurances from head coach, Jon Gruden, that Brown would be playing in week 1 of the regular season, Brown demanded his release from the team just days later, having never played a regular season game in black and silver.

Almost immediately after his release from the Oakland Raiders, Brown was picked up by the New England Patriots. With Tom Brady and Bill Belichick at the helm, this felt like a great place for Brown to pick up where he left off in Pittsburgh. This marriage would last only a few weeks, however, with allegations of sexual misconduct and threatening texts sent to the accuser, Brown was promptly released from his contract.

Following his release from the Patriots, Brown tweeted he was planning on retiring from the NFL, swiftly reversing his decision a few days later. The following offseason saw Brown suspended for the first 8 games of the 2020 season after he was found ‘'in violation of the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy' for an incident with a truck driver, receiving felony charges of burglary and battery.

Despite what had rapidly become a very chequered reputation, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Brown as soon as his suspension ran its course. A reunion with Tom Brady and Bruce Arians (who had coached Brown in Pittsburgh) was too good an offer to pass up. The Buccaneers were the best team in the league all year and romped to a Super Bowl victory, with Brown catching a touchdown in a 31-9 victory over Kansas City.

The 2021 season saw Brown fit into a still very good Tampa Bay side, catching 42 targets for over 500 yards and 4 TDs. Whilst not quite the lofty numbers of his earlier years, Brown was still a significant part of a team that went 13-4. Despite all of this, in a bizarre incident that has since never truly been clarified, in a week 17 game against the New York Jets, Brown stripped down to his shorts, throwing his shirt and equipment into the stands and leaving the stadium, all before half time. Head Coach Bruce Arians noted Brown was ‘no longer a Buc’ in his post-match press conference.

In a two-month period in late 2022, Brown was accused of exposing himself to a woman in a hotel in Dubai and later charged with domestic battery after an incident with his ex fiance. These charges were later dropped with the matter settled outside of the courtroom. Brown continues to court controversy, recently having his Snapchat account banned after showing a woman performing a sex act on him. In early March 2023, he finally retired for good from the NFL.

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