In the past year, Antonio Brown has gone from one of the highest paid wide receivers in the National Football League (NFL) to a retired player accused of raping multiple women. This has many Parker students reconsidering their opinions on Brown.

Brown entered the NFL in 2010, selected in the sixth round of the draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his rookie season the Steelers went to the Super Bowl but lost to the Green Bay Packers. However, it was his second season where he broke out, becoming the first player in NFL history to have more than 1,000 yards receiving and returning in the same year. Since 2011, Brown has consistently been one of the top wide receivers in the NFL.

In 2016, Brown signed a four-year, $68 million contract extension with the Steelers, which paid him $17 million annually. The contract made him the highest-paid wide receiver in football at that time. His career was on the rise.

Then, during the Steelers’ final week of the 2018 season, Brown reportedly got into an argument with the team’s quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. He skipped practices that week and was benched for the final game. After the season ended, he requested to be traded. 

Ryan Clark, one of his former teammates, noted that giving Brown such a large contract was a bad thing. ”They [the Steelers] created a monster by giving him a big contract,” Clark said. Brown allegedly had even gone so far as to tell defenders not to touch him during practice because he “was the franchise.”

On March 9, 2019, the Steelers traded Brown to the Oakland Raiders in exchange for third-round and fifth-round 2019 draft picks. Brown vowed to bring good energy to the team and be a good teammate for the organization going into the 2019 season following their rough 4-12 season in 2018.

The drama continued before the 2019 season even started. The NFL banned Brown from wearing his old helmet due to a rule that bars players from wearing any helmet that is older than 10 years. Brown threatened to retire if he was not able to wear his helmet and missed many preseason games and practices. In response to missing these practices, the Raiders fined Brown. The drama only built from there.

Brown took to social media to express his displeasure with the lack of support from the Raiders. On September 9, 2019, Brown got into a fight with the General Manager of the Raiders, Mike Mayock, calling him a “cracker.” He needed to be held back from attacking him as he threatened to punch him in the face. Brown was fined $219,000 for his altercation with Mayock and voided $29 million that was guaranteed to him in his contract. He then asked to be released, and the Raiders let him go. Brown left the team prior to playing a single game for the Raiders.

Soon after his release, the New England Patriots signed Brown to a one-year $15 million contract with a $9 million signing bonus. Before playing a game with his new team, Brown was accused of sexually assaulting and raping his former trainer on three separate occasions in 2017 and 2018.

Brown played week two of the 2019 season against the Miami Dolphins, scoring a touchdown in the team’s win. Following this game, Brown lost his endorsement with Nike due to the allegations against him. Brown then reportedly sent intimidating text messages to his accuser. “I can’t believe I ever looked up to Antonio Brown,” Senior Tomas Cataggio said. “He had the chance to be a role model to millions of young fans, and instead used his fame and power for personal gain.”

Finally, on September 20, 2019, Brown was released by the Patriots. They issued this statement: “We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time.”

Brown responded on social media thanking the Patriots for the opportunity. Brown then tweeted that he planned to retire from the NFL and expressed his frustration with the NFL Players Association not holding team owners to their contracts, referring to his voided guarantee from the Raiders. Senior Micah Derringer responded to Brown’s tweet. “It was totally legal, Derringer said. “It was within the lines of his contract where if he committed certain actions that were outlined in his contract that the guarantee could be voided.”

Brown enrolled in an online degree completion program at Central Michigan College, his alma mater. 

On September 26, 2019 Brown tweeted: “I’m still the best why stop now,” sparking belief that he plans to return to the NFL. However, he is yet to be signed by a team.