It has now been more than 15 months since Antonio Brown last played in an NFL game, and during his time away from football it seems that Brown has found a new favorite pastime, and that pastime is bashing Tom Brady.
The two used to be close — Brown even lived with Brady at one point — but now, the friendship is officially over and Brown revealed the reason why during a recent interview on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast.
According to Brown, things with Brady started to fall apart after the Buccaneers won Super Bowl LV over the Chiefs in February 2021. Brown’s contract expired after Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl-winning season, and apparently that’s where the drama started. While Brown was negotiating with the Bucs, he claims that Brady called his agent and “cursed” him out.
“After we get the ring in [2020], the next year, I’m the last guy that signed,” Brown said. “My agent, Ed Wasielewski, is getting called, cursed out by Tom Brady over ‘Why is he pushing back for the contract for scraps?’ Imagine if you heard that, the same guy that brought you in to win a ring, the same agent he told you to hook up with to get the deal, is now telling me, the guy’s calling him … cursing him out about scraps of a contract.”
After nearly two months of drama, Brown ended up signing a one-year deal with the team in late April 2021. Brown likely was holding out for more money, but in the end, his deal only ended up being worth $3.1 million. The Buccaneers had a busy offseason in 2021 as they also had to work out new contracts for players like Shaquil Barrett, Rob Gronkowski and Ndamukong Suh.
“I give everyone their props from a team standpoint, as far as the team, but you know, we all got our own agendas in the midst of the team,” Brown said. “So when you’re an older player, you getting deals like that … My agent’s telling me already before the season that this guy — who [Brady] hooked me up with — is calling him, cussing him out about the contract.”
Of course, it’s impossible to know if this actually happened. Since storming off the field in his final NFL game, Brown has had nothing but negative things to say about Brady. In January 2022, he publicly questioned his friendship with Brady. One month later, he threw Brady under the bus in a rant where he basically blamed the QB for an ankle injury that he had suffered. In August 2022, Brown accused Brady of getting special treatment after the QB took some time away from training camp to be with his family.
These two might have been friends at one point, but it feels like Brown has now burned every bridge in the relationship.
2023 NFL Mock Draft: C.J Stroud, Anthony Richardson fall below top 10; three defenders go in first five picks
One week out from the 2023 NFL Draft, I’m ready to make one very bold proclamation: This draft probably isn’t very good and will end up setting the record for most incorrect mock drafts perpetuated in the history of whomever the mockers worship (a stone statue of Mel Kiper’s magnificent coiffe, no doubt) these days.
But this draft won’t be shocking because of the storylines. It’s going to be shocking because it’s a Plane Jane type of draft. There’s four quarterbacks and a bunch of non-top-heavy stars. The cornerbacks are good and the edge rushers might be good, too, but there’s not a whole lot of great going on in this draft.
Maybe that’s somewhere we’ve been headed the last few years.
Regardless of how we perceive these draft classes, why aren’t we imagining a world where some of these quarterbacks drop in the draft? Everyone is talking about four quarterbacks in the top five … and it’s kind of crazy.
Patrick Mahomes went No. 10 overall, Deshaun Watson two spots later in the same draft. The Bills gave up two second-round picks for moving up five spots to take Josh Allen at No. 7. Jalen Hurts was a second-round pick. Justin Fields was drafted No. 11 overall. Lots of top QB prospects go much later than people expect. Let’s put that pen to penciled paper.
Reminder: This year’s draft only has 31 picks in the opening round due to the Miami Dolphins being stripped of their first-rounder due to tampering.
For more draft content, check out our latest prospect rankings and mock drafts, as well as our new weekly podcast, “With the First Pick,” featuring former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. (Check out the latest episode below.)
