Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown has revealed why he left the game against the New York Jets early on Jan. 2.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said Brown recently suffered an ankle injury and didn’t want to re-enter the game during the third quarter of the team’s 28-24 lead. When Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians and his staff urged him to go in, and Brown declined, the staff told the receiver he’d no longer be a part of the team.
“After that, they then threw him off the sidelines and then cut him from the team,” Rapoport said.
Brown’s move was costly as he was only a few catches away from receiving nearly a million dollars in bonuses. He needed eight more catches for a $333,333 bonus, 55 more receiving yards for another $333,333 bonus, and one more receiving touchdown for another $333,333 bonus, according to Spotrac.
The star receiver’s brother, Desmond Brown, told the Daily Caller he believed his older brother left the game “because he wanted to get those incentives and realized it wasn’t going to happen.” Desmond also called the act “a real selfish move to leave in the middle of the game like that, though,” and said, “there’s no honor in quitting.”
After leaving, Brown posted a picture of himself on Twitter with the caption, “Super Gremlin.” His brother told the outlet it’s the title of a Kodak Black song about being betrayed by the people closest to you. Brown also posted a Fashion Nova Instagram advertisement and a new song hours after his abrupt exit from the game.
Brown was in the headlines earlier this season after his ex-chef accused him of using a fake vaccination card due to concerns about what the vaccine would do to his body.
