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It seems Antonio Brown was hoping to increase his paycheck this season before Sunday’s mid-game meltdown.
The now-former Buccaneers receiver, who was officially released Thursday following his shirtless spectacle at MetLife Stadium, is said to have requested the remaining $2 million worth of incentives in his contract for 2021 be guaranteed, according to Tampa Bay GM Jason Licht. The team declined Brown and his agent’s ask.
Last spring, Brown agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Buccaneers, signing a contract worth up to $6.25 million that included a $2 million signing bonus and $3.1 million guaranteed.
In the wake of his outburst, however, Brown lost up to $1 million in contract incentives. The receiver had three separate bonuses he could have achieved, according to Spotrac, each totaling $333,333. Brown was eight catches shy of unlocking one bonus and needed 55 receiving yards to secure another. The 33-year-old receiver was one receiving touchdown short for the third bonus.
Following Sunday’s win against the Jets, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians stated Brown was “no longer a Buc.” Days later, Brown accused Arians and the organization of mishandling an ankle injury.
Arians addressed the spectacle Thursday after Brown’s official release.
“At no point in time during that game did he ever ask a trainer or doctor about his ankle, that’s the normal protocol, ” Arians said. “I was never notified of it so obviously, that was the disturbing thing when we were looking for him to go back into the game. He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted, got that calmed down, players took care of that.”
Arians added Thursday that it “started again on the sideline” during the game, with Brown refusing to go into the game. Arians said he approached Brown about what was going on, in which the receiver allegedly told his coach, “I ain’t playing,” and “I ain’t getting the ball.”
“That’s when I said, ‘You’re done, get the eff out of here.’ That’s the end of it,” Arians said, confirming a previous report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who said Brown was “agitated” about not being targeted during the game.
Amid a week filled with drama — which also included an alleged leaked text exchange between Brown and his now-former head coach — Arians said the Buccaneers are focusing on their final regular-season game Sunday against the Panthers.
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