By Coley Alvis

Football phenom Antonio Brown was drafted in the 2010 NFL draft after playing receiver at Central Michigan University, quickly becoming one of the most active and accomplished receivers in the past decade. His career began in Pittsburgh.  Here, Brown stacked records, such as being a four-time first-team All-Pro from 2014-2017, seven-time Pro-Bowler in 2011  and 2013-18, two-time receptions yard holder in 2014 and 2017, and two-time NFL reception leader in 2014 and 2015. With such great talent, how has Brown’s career been nearly destroyed by 2022?

To understand Brown, you need to know that he was always a fighter. Whether at home or on the football field, Brown has always had trouble controlling his anger. Beginning at home, Brown’s father left him in his teenage years due to their poor relationship, which left his mother alone in a rough neighborhood of Liberty City, Florida. By the time he was a senior in high school, his mother had already kicked him out of the house due to his troubling behavior. Through thick and thin, he still managed to make it to college. Soon enough he had earned himself a Division I scholarship with Florida International University. This opportunity didn’t last long, however, once he got into a fight with a student before the season had even started, resulting in him being kicked out of the university. 

While on the Steelers, Brown had always been a great leader and teammate. Brown had a start to one of the greatest careers until a dangerous hit. In a 2016 playoff game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Vontaze Burfict laid out Brown in one of the dirtiest hits to a defenseless receiver of all time. This hit led Brown passed out on the ground. As result, he was left with a devastating concussion, the end of his 2016 season, and some say the rest of his career. 

Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown celebrating after a touchdown. Photo credit: Peter Diana

Brown’s 2017 season is when his troubles began. This season was when Brown’s relationship with the Steelers disintegrated. Before the season had even started, Brown had begun showing up late to meetings, as well as being late to workouts and practices. This led to a bumpy relationship between him and head coach Mike Tomlin. It also angered his teammates and, in particular, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.  

His first outburst was in week four against the Baltimore Ravens, when a video surfaced of Brown throwing a Gatorade cooler over the bench and yelling at the coaches and Roethlisberger. At this point, Brown was too good of a player to be released. His season earned him a first-team all-pro receiver spot, and he was ranked the best wide receiver in the league and second most valuable player on the NFL charts. He was a one-of-a-kind player, but his anger and mental health issues were becoming evident. 

The 2018 season was when the Steelers and Brown’s relationship would completely end. Continuing to have another great season, Brown averaged over 100 yards per game for the Steelers. In week 17 against the Bengals, Brown was benched for being continually late to meetings, workouts, practices, and getting into an altercation with Roethlisberger. By the end of that season, he would request a trade. 

From his trade, he would land in Las Vegas, Nevada with the Raiders. From the get-go, his first impression of the Raiders was very poor. He would miss the first ten weeks of pre-season due to frostbite from a cryotherapy machine. He continually would not show up and was even spotted in a hot air balloon shortly after his frostbite incident, which led him to be fined $40,000. 

Off to an atrocious start in Las Vegas, Brown would soon be back on his feet practicing, but not for too long. He now refused to follow the NFL’s new helmet rule, which was made to prevent concussions and brain damage. Brown filed two grievance reports in result against the NFL for not being allowed to wear his old helmet, but both were denied. Following his non-compliance, he would get into an altercation with general manager Mike Mayock over more fines for his absence. This argument resulted in Brown getting physical with Mayock as well as calling him slurs, such as a “cracker.” Six months after his arrival in Nevada, Brown was traded to the Patriots with a two hundred thousand dollar fine from the Raiders. 

With Patriots fans furious over the decision, head coach Bill Belicheck still signed Brown with hopes he would cooperate with a Super Bowl-contending team. After two weeks, Brown was accused of sexual assault. Beginning with a former trainer named Brittany Taylor, several other accusations would later be released. With these accusations, Brown would shortly be released from New England. 

Released as a free agent, Brown was not picked up by any teams in the 2019 season. It was not until October 2021 that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced they had picked up Brown. Without any problems, Brown and the Buccaneers secured a Super Bowl victory on Feb. 7,2021 against the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Brown after throwing his shirt off mid-game in January. Photo Credit: Peter Mills.

Hope had finally been returned to Brown’s name, and it seemed he had finally been happy with the team. In the 2021 season, his relationship with the Buccaneers still seemed promising. Week 17 is when Antonio Brown shocked the nation. In the middle of a game against the Jets, Brown threw off his shoulder pads and jersey and proceeded to run off the field into the locker room without a shirt on. It was later announced by head coach Bruce Arians that Brown was “no longer a Buccaneer.”

After seven years of being compliant and an all-star with the Steelers, what happened? It has been obvious over the years that Brown’s mental health has been alarming. His issues may be a result of his 2016 concussion, or perhaps due chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more commonly known as CTE. CTE is most commonly caused by numerous concussions or trauma to the head. Brown has denied the accusations, and when asked in an interview on the Full Send podcast, Brown said, “CTE, you can’t scan a person for CTE ’til they’re dead, first off.” Many doctors, like Dr. Chris Nowinskithink, that his issues may be caused by CTE, yet there is no clear evidence to show this. 

Cover art for Antonio Brown’s new Song “Pit Not The Palace.” Image credit: CAB Records.

After all that Brown has been through since beginning his career, what is he doing now? As of right now it is unclear whether Brown will be returning to the NFL, but some sports analysts think he will. As of right now, Brown has begun to release music. On January 3, Brown released his first song, titled “Pit Not The Palace”. This video has now garnered over 500,000 views on youtube and Spotify in only a month. He has also spent time with other rappers, including Kanye West, French Montana, Tiga, Yg, and numerous other artists. It seems now that Brown’s rap career is only beginning. The question now is, will Brown continue his rap career, or will he return back to being a star in the NFL?