Antonio Brown Says Buccaneers Tried to Pay Him to Commit Himself to Mental Health Treatment

By Brian Jones

Antonio Brown continues to go after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former Bucs wide receiver will appear on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel to talk about his issues with the team and mental health. A short video clip was shared on social media, and Brown is seen discussing his ankle injury. He also talks about how the Bucs offered him $200,000 to take time away from football to receive mental health treatment. 

"The offer was Antonio would basically sit on the sidelines, go on some list and commit himself to some form of intensive mental health treatment, and we were specifically told in writing by the general manager twice, 'Don't spin this any other way,'" Brown's lawyer Sean Burstyn explained, per CBS Sports. This comes shortly after Brown talked about mental health on the I Am Athlete podcast. He said he doesn't understand why people say he has issues with mental health every time there's a problem. 

"Why every time something happens bad, or how someone reacts, 'Aw, he's crazy, there's something wrong with his mental health?'" Brown asked. "There's nothing wrong with my mental health. Someone told me to get the f— out of here. I'm not passive-aggressive." Brown was released by the Bucs earlier this month when he left the team during their game against the New York Jets. Bucs head coach Brice Arians said Brown was no longer part of the team when he spoke to reporters after the game. 

"He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted," Arians said, per Sports Illustrated. "We got that calmed down, the players took care of that. It started again on the sideline. We called for the personnel group that he had played in the entire game, and he refused to go into the game. That's when I looked back and saw him basically wave off the coach. I then went back and approached him about what was going on. 'I ain't playing.' 'What's going on?' 'I ain't getting the ball.' That's when I said, 'You're done. Get the 'eff' out of here.' That's the end of it."

Brown finished the season with 545 yards and four touchdowns on 42 receptions in seven games. He originally signed with the Bucs in 2020 and helped the team win a Super Bowl last year. 

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