Antonio Brown only played for the Bucs for parts of two seasons, but he will forever live in infamy mainly for two reasons. First, he played a critical role on the team’s 2020 Super Bowl run, even catching a touchdown in Super Bowl LV to help defeat the Chiefs, 31-9. Second, everyone knows about him walking off the field in the middle of the Jets game the following year, which marked the end of his tumultuous NFL career.

Even recently, Brown continues to be in the headlines – and not for good reasons. It was revealed that the National Arena League team he obtained majority ownership of back in April, the Albany Empire, was kicked out of the league after he failed to pay the team’s fees and the fines he received.

Brown, or “AB” for short, finally opened up about many things – including his short but controversial tenure in Tampa Bay – on the “It Needed To Be Said” podcast with Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill and Julius Collins.

Antonio Brown: “They Treated Me Like A Little Dog”

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Bucs QB Tom Brady and head coach Bruce Arians – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

ntonio Brown had plenty to say when discussing how he felt the Bucs organization treated him. Much of it had to do with the ankle injury he suffered during the Eagles game and how he continued to play through it.

In the aftermath of being released by the Bucs, he leaked his text message exchange with head coach Bruce Arians. Heading into what was his final game against the Jets, he only saw the target on his back getting bigger.

“We’re about to play the Jets, and this week I’m really hurt like, so I’m like taking pictures to the coach,” Brown said. “‘Coach, man, are we going to win the Super Bowl?’ Man, I think I need to just take these last two weeks. At least recover up, so I can give you my best when we are to the time that means the most. We’re here to win the Super Bowl, so the coach said, ‘Hey man, we ain’t resting.’ 

“Once I got to New York, I already felt bad energy because now I sent the coach the mail. He telling me what we ain’t doing while my s–t hurt. You know Tom [Brady] gassing me up, and I already know they’ve been fake to me the whole time I was suspended. I just went for 100 yards, and their guys were hurt. So I know they are just trying to make it seem like, ‘Man, let’s just keep him going for what we could get out of him. So I already know they treated me like I’m a little dog.”

Antonio Brown Finally Had Enough Of The Bucs

Bucs WR Antonio Brown and QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Not only did Antonio Brown think Bruce Arians and Tom Brady were only trying to squeeze what was left out of him on the field, he felt Brady’s trainer, Alex Guerrero, was squeezing his pockets to pay for treatment that was not lining up with what the Bucs trainers were telling him. He saw it as being stuck in the middle of two opinions and felt being charged by his own teammate was petty.

“I just see it’s sideways, and then Tom’s Trainer, he don’t wanna work with me no more because now he feels like I’m working with the team that the guy who knows the MRI, who can see what’s really going on inside of my leg,” Brown said. “He trying to really compete against this guy to get his job. So it’s like two training rooms – it’s Tom’s training room, and it’s the team training room. I got a deal from Tampa Bay; it ain’t come from these guys. And then I’m paying these guys $100,000 for him to work with me during the year.

“These boys skinning me, and they’re supposed to be the guys that have my back. Cheetah [Tyreek Hill], you being an old guy in the group, you don’t charge guys. Because we want you to be your best, you being your best helps me. These guys are actually charging me to work with me, and it’s like the team actually paid this guy to work with the players. So I’m paying him on top of the payment from this, and he’s not even he’s going out of his way.”

Before the game, Brown went to see Guerrero and had enough.

“He’s just like hugging me … This guy is on my body with bad energy,” Brown said. “He didn’t want to help me, what the f-ck are you hugging me for, bro? I already told you the energy was like this, the guy didn’t even give me treatment, and he knows I’m hurt. These guys don’t even care.”

Then came the walk off the field in the third quarter. Up to that point, Brown only had five targets and three receptions for 26 yards. This was after being promised by Brady himself he was going to hook him up with a big game.

In Brown’s words on what led to his “peace out” from the NFL.

“So now, come playing the game, I’m hurt – I’m in my zone, super hurt, and it’s like I might hurt myself more, and they’re not really trying to put me in a good position,” Brown said. “I’m not here to hurt myself; I’m out here to help you guys win. That means getting the ball, helping you move the chains, and getting in the zone. Right now, you guys not trying to see none of that. You guys are mixing me with, ‘He doesn’t want to work with me; I’m paying him. You don’t want to throw me the ball, and you make me like I’m crazy, so it’s like I’m crazy? F-ck all you motherf-ckers.” 

Antonio Brown Opens Up On Relationship With Tom Brady

Bucs WR Antonio Brown – Photo by: USA Today

Antonio Brown only became a Buccaneer after Tom Brady extended an olive branch. They only played together for one game on the Patriots, but Brady saw his Hall Of Fame-level talent and convinced the team to bring him in. Things seemingly were fine during the 2020 season, as Brown’s performance picked up during the final three games of the regular season and in the playoffs. All was well – Brady was firing on all cylinders, and Brown was back in the league and restoring his image, ever so slightly. Still, they were not the best of friends. They lived different lifestyles.

“Tom Brady and these boys, they talking to me like I got a selfish impact. I’m staying at Davis Islands; I got like 10 cars out there. I’m having different models come, but that’s what I choose to do. It’s not what y’all need to do, but this is what I do.”

Brown was living his dream life down in Tampa Bay. Not only did he have a big house, cars, models, and designer clothes, but he also had become a rapper on the side. 

Yet he did not get to have his storybook ending. Instead, after the Jets game, he would be released from the Bucs, and it would mark the end of his career in the NFL. If he stayed with the Bucs and continued playing, he could have been on his way to Canton, Ohio. In seems like another lifetime, but there was a long stretch when he was the best wide receiver in the NFL when he played for the Steelers.

Fans of the Bucs had the chance to see the greatest quarterback of all time play with arguably the best set of weapons stockpiled. Reflecting on his relationship with Brady now, Brown stated it was strictly on the field.

Bucs QB Tom Brady and WR Antonio Brown – Photo by: USA Today

“Tom Brady [and I] had a football relationship,” Brown said. “Outside of football, we had a mutual friend. Tom [and I] don’t have a lot in common, you know? Besides being great at football. A lot of people could say you’re friends, but friends are the people that know your family, know your kids and congratulate you and tell you happy birthdays and really support you. I feel like that’s life. Everyone is not going to be your friend. Everyone you work with, everyone you play with. Everyone, anyone you grow up with. We all outgrow each other. That doesn’t mean we hate each other, but we’re not calling each other every day and texting them, but it’s been like that since 2021. 

“We work with people; you live with people. Life goes on. We all got a life to live. We don’t hate anyone. There’s no bad energy or no negative vibes. We all have a stint in each other’s life, and life goes on.”

All in all, this was Brown’s side of the story and why he chose to take the route he did. He spent many seasons running pristine routes on the field, but now he has taken a new route with his life and finding happiness in his own way.

“That’s why I was grateful to do this is and be able to express the real,” Brown said. “A lot of people don’t get a chance to hear the whole side of the story or other people’s points of view.”