Antonio Brown Posts $54k Fines From Oakland Raiders and Calls out Haters

The Oakland Raiders may have been supporting Antonio Brown as he recovered from frostbite on his [...]

By John Newby

The Oakland Raiders may have been supporting Antonio Brown as he recovered from frostbite on his feet and dealt with the helmet issues, but that doesn't mean that his absences were excused. The NFL is a league of rules, after all, and one of those involves skipping mandatory team sessions, including practices, games or walkthroughs. Brown missed multiple sessions when the Raiders were in Napa, California, and he is paying the price.

Wednesday morning, AB posted a photo on his Instagram stories showing a letter he had received from Oakland Raiders general manager Mike Mayock. This correspondence was officially informing the veteran receiver that he was being fined $14,000 for missing a walkthrough on August 22. Brown had also been previously fined $40,000 for missing time during training camp. Apparently, he wasn't happy about receiving this letter, and he opted to take his frustrations to social media.

"When your own team want to hate but there's no stopping me now Devil is a lie," Brown wrote on Instagram. "Everyone got to pay this year so we clear." He also tagged the Raiders' account so there would be nothing lost in translation.

According to the letter sent by Mayock and the Raiders, the biggest fine stems from Brown's continued absence in mid-August, specifically, the 18th. This is the day that the Raiders GM stepped in front of reporters and set an ultimatum for his wide receiver.

"You all know that AB is not here today, right? So, here's the bottom line – he's upset about the helmet issue," Mayock said at the time. "We have supported that, we appreciate that. But at this point, we've pretty much exhausted all avenues of relief. So, from our perspective, it's time for him to be all in, or all out, OK? So, we're hoping he's back soon. We've got 89 guys busting their tails, we are really excited about where this franchise is going and we hope AB's going to be a big part of it, starting Week 1 against Denver. End of story. No questions, OK? Just wanted you guys to know where we were. Fair?"

Brown did later return to the team but was not an active participant for the majority of sessions while he continued to deal with the saga surrounding his preferred headgear. The continued confusion about Brown's status with the team appeared to frustrate Mayock, as well as head coach Jon Gruden, and now they are sending a clear message. Show up and put in the work. Missing any more practices will only lead to continued fines.

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