Antonio Brown Records Wild Podcast With Bob Menery

The Buccaneers officially released wide receiver Antonio Brown on Thursday, days after his public blowup and exit in the middle of the team’s game at MetLife Stadium against the Jets. Just minutes after he was officially granted his release, Brown sat down with Bob Menery and the Full Send Podcast to address many of the issues surrounding his controversial exit from Tampa Bay. 

“Of course, man” Brown said, when asked if he intends to play football again. “It’s my passion, it's what I do, man. Every year is a fresh start. A new year. I still like to get in shape, I still like to compete, and it’s just getting started. Obviously we had some stuff that went on. It’s all about integrity and handling people the right way, and you know, AB is a football first, I’m a football player first. That’s my business.”

From there, he dove into a litany of topics stemming from the events of this week, touching on his relationships with Tom Brady and Bruce Arians, concerns over his contract with the Buccaneers, and his ankle injury. He was even asked whether he believes, as many have speculated, that he suffers from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the brain disease that has been heavily connected to concussions and head trauma sustained from football.

On the events of last Sunday, and the status of his ankle injury heading into the game:

”Imagine the guys you came to battle with, while you know your frickin’ ankle’s f-----, you barely can run, and the guy who you think has your back—this your team, these the guys who you flew here with to do a mission—they knew my situation before we even came. I communicated with the coach, the trainers, everyone know. And you get there and you’re battling with them, the guy tells you that because you can't go to war with him, he tells you to get the f--- out of there?“ Brown said. “What do you want me to do? Bro, I'm an alpha male ... If you discriminate on my public image and my name, at that point it’s f--- you too professionally.

“So in the midst of the game these guys telling me, ‘Get in.’ I'm already on the bench, I’m telling them like, ‘Yo, my ankle is done, man, that's all I got.’ The guy said, ‘Get the f--- outta here, you done with,‘ cutting his throat,” Brown continued, mimicking the gesture he claims a Bucs coach made to him. “At that point, bro, I’m taking your f------ logos off. I don't want to wear that s---, I’m outta here.”

Brown’s relationship with Brady has been at the forefront of his last few years in the NFL. Brady was involved in his signing with the Patriots in 2019, after his unceremonious release from the Raiders, and midway through the ’20 season with the Buccaneers. He stayed with Brady after signing in Tampa, and the two have both gone on the record about their friendship.

On Thursday, Brown posted about a money dispute with Brady’s trainer and business partner Alex Guerrero, tagging Brady in the posts. During the podcast interview, he says that he believes their friendship is predicated on Brown’s ability on the field.

“It’s nothing personal man, Tom is actually my friend, one of my close friends,” Brown said. “Some people have a different definition of friend. When I say you’re my friend, that means I have your back. To me though, that’s what a friend means...

“Tom Brady’s my friend. Why? Because I’m a good football player. He needs me to play football, right? These guys called me to win the Super Bowl... People have different meanings of what friendship is.”

On Friday, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the issues between Brown and the Bucs started before last Sunday’s blowup, and that he and his agent asked for the team to guarantee the $1 million in stat-based incentives he was close to earning. While he maintains that he was too injured to continue playing on Sunday, Brown seems to confirm that his contract was a major issue for him, and even compared himself to another close Brady ally: tight end Rob Gronkowski.

“If Tom Brady’s my boy why am I playing for earning salary? You my boy though, right? Gronkowski’s his boy, right? How much did he get paid? So why is AB on a prove-it deal?”

Per Spotrac, Brown was on a one-year, $3.1 million deal with $2 million guaranteed on signing. Gronk's one-year deal for the ’21–22 season is worth $8 million, all guaranteed.

From there, Brown appears to confirm Arians’s assertion that he was angry about the lack of targets he was receiving, with those contract incentives on the line.

“Why is I’m not getting the ball, target like a No. 1 receiver?” Brown asked. “Why?”

When one of the podcast co-hosts floated an “ulterior motive” on the part of the Bucs, Brown agreed, saying, “You pretty smart! I like this guy!”

During the interview, Brown was asked directly whether he believes he has CTE. Yet in response, Brown suggested that living players cannot have the disease because it can only be diagnosed after a person has died.

Brown went on a lengthy diatribe about the late Vincent Jackson, chastising the Bucs for their response to his death in 2021 and his CTE diagnosis.

Given the war of words between Tampa Bay and the now-former Bucs wide receiver, this may be his longest interview on the subject to date, but it likely won’t be the last time the football world hears from him about his exit. 

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