During the Buccaneers vs. New York Jets game, Antonio Brown burst into a meltdown and walked off of the field during the third quarter. Unfortunately, the eruption has led to him being removed from the team. Here's what went down.
As the other NFL players were out on the field, Brown was on the visitors' sidelines at the MetLife Stadium. The wide receiver was instructed by his coach, Bruce Arians, to enter the game two different times. But according to reports from the NFL Network, Brown claimed he was too injured to rejoin his teammates. The athlete got frustrated with the coach, took off all his gear, including the shoulder pads, jersey, shirt, and gloves, and tossed them. He then ran into the field as the game was still going and waved bye to the audience before heading into the locker room.
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After the Tampa Bay team won the game 28-24, coach Arians revealed, "[Brown] is no longer a Buc. That's the end of the story. Let's talk about the guys that went out there and won the game." When he was asked the reason why, he responded, "I'm not talking about him. He's no longer part of the Bucs." It's still unclear the true nature of the player's departure. One source told ESPN that Brown had quit the team.
This situation didn't just cost the NFL star his career but also nearly a million dollars. Now that he is done for the season, the 33-year old's contract with the Buccaneers is over. According to Sportrac, he signed a 1-year, 3.1 million dollar contract. Along with the guaranteed money came a set of bonuses, which he is no longer entitled to. If the athlete made eight more catches, he would have received $333,333, plus another $333,333 for 55 receiving yards, and finally another bonus of $333,333 for one receiving touchdown. What a pricey meltdown.
Seven-time Superbowl champion and Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady responded to the situation with empathy, saying, "I have a lot of empathy for the things that are happening in [Brown's] life. So it's a lot of challenges we all face from time to time. I think the best thing is to have a support system, even outside of football, because again, yeah, we are football players, we're athletes, we give everything we can on the field, but we also have off-field lives, too."
Antonio Brown hasn't yet officially spoken about what happened. Stay tuned for more updates.
