Antonio Brown details leaving $30 million with Raiders to join forces with Tom Brady - "This not championship culture"
Antonio Brown and Tom Brady's saga began after he left the Oakland Raiders to join the New England Patriots. It continued on with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a Super Bowl win, before imploding spectacularly following the wide receiver leaving midgame.
Since then, Antonio Brown has taken a lot of shots at Tom Brady, especially involving his personal life. But there was a time, based on his recollections with Tyreek Hill, when he actively wanted to play with the quarterback.
Speaking about the time he left the Pittsburgh Steelers and went to the Oakland Raiders, he said that he was ready to be a champion there. In reality, he just remained there for the 2019 offseason and never played a game. He explained how that came about, saying on the "It Needed To Be Said" podcast:
"So, I go to Oakland, man. I get a big deal. Mark Davis, I love Mark Davis. I love John Gruden... But in my mind, you know, as a player you just thinking like ‘Yo, I want to be a champion’. You know, I'd already done everything from making the money. And I already had like $80 million in contracts just with the Steelers.
"So, to me it's like, I already got 40 in the tub. You know, I just wanted to do something legendary, like just be a champion."
He said that he left before the season began because he was guaranteed $30 million once he played his first regular-season game with the Denver Broncos. But he could not do that to owner Mark Davis, who had bet on him. Antonio Brown added,
"So, I call Mark Davis as a smart man I am because you know I'm a good guy. I could have just said, ‘Yo my back hurt’ and just got the 30 million. We played Denver on Monday night. The contract guaranteed once you play the first game as a vet, I could have gotten the 30 to 15 million. I said, ‘No, I'm gonna do was right.'
"You know Mark Davis stood up on a limb for me, when I was walking off from Steelers and I told him I need to $30 million guaranteed."
The reason, according to the wide receiver, why he wanted to be honest with the owner was because he did not want to take the money and play in a culture that he could not see win the Super Bowl.
Instead, Antonio Brown wanted to go to a team that could win the championship. Someone like the New England Patriots, who had Tom Brady. He explained:
"So, I got to the Raiders and I'm like ‘Yo Mark, I love everything about here, I love money but this not championship culture. This not the environment I want to be in. I love you. Appreciate the 30 million but already got 30’. Not to be arrogant but I got it. I don't need to hustle you. I don't need to hustle NFL. It's been a great you know enterprise for me... So, I get with Tom Brady."
What people saw with Antonio Brown's time with the Raiders before his time with Tom Brady
Despite his recollections, NFL fans and even his teammates might have a different view of why he left the Oakland Raiders and it might not have anything to do with Tom Brady. Antonio Brown had a series of missteps that made any continued relationship nearly impossible.
He missed 10 of the 11 training camps after getting blisters on his foot due to frostbite in a cryotherapy session. Then he was involved in a standoff with the league for not wearing the right helmet as he kept insisting on wearing his old one.
He was then fined $54,000 in September 2019 for unexcused absences by general manager Mike Mayock, which led to an altercation between them the next day. One day after that, on September 6, he apologized for his actions. But by the next day, he demanded his release from the team after the guaranteed portion of the contract was voided.
The Antonio Brown Raiders Era: March 10, 2019 - September 7, 2019 https://t.co/FgxHdPXzm2
He was released hours before it kicked in and on the same day he signed with the New England Patriots. However, there he was caught up in controversy stemming from sexual assault allegations against his former trainer, and was cut by them on September 20.