Antonio Brown claims he ‘will not be playing in the NFL anymore’ after release from Patriots

Don’t expect to see Antonio Brown back on a football field anytime soon. The wide receiver said on Twitter on Sunday morning that he is done playing in the NFL after his release from the New England Patriots, who cast him aside earlier this week in the wake of a new set of disturbing allegations against him. Brown also took a swipe at Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was caught up in a massage parlor scandal earlier this year.

Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable sad they can just void guarantees anytime going on 40m 2 months will see if they pay up !

— AB (@AB84) September 22, 2019

The Patriots made the decision to release Brown after Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko reported allegations of “intimidation” by Brown from an accuser, who had stated earlier in the week that Brown had sexually assaulter her. Brown had previously been accused by a former trainer of multiple instances of rape and sexual assault. Those allegations became public shortly after he signed with the Patriots, but he was not suspended, placed on the exempt list, or kept from playing in New England’s Week 2 game against the Dolphins. Brown denied all of the allegations via statements from his agent Drew Rosenhaus and attorney Darren Heitner.

Brown’s tweet announcing his intention to no longer play in the NFL makes clear that he will indeed be seeking at least part of the $9 million signing bonus he got from the Patriots, and perhaps some of the signing bonus he received in his deal with the Raiders. The Raiders were able to get out of paying Brown by fining and suspending him for conduct detrimental to the team, while the Patriots structured his contract so that none of the bonus money was paid out until next week. He was released by both teams before said money was delivered.

After Antonio Brown’s latest Twitter tirade this morning, one NFL source texted: “Kraft never writing that check, no matter what the ruling is now.”

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 22, 2019

Per Andrew Brandt of TheMMQB, $5 million of that guaranteed money in Brown’s signing bonus was due on or before Sept. 23, 2019 and $4 million was due on or before Jan 1, 2020. CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora reported that Brown could end up earning no more than two weeks of prorated money off his $1 million base salary, pending a potential grievance by the NFLPA, which Brown alluded to in his tweet.

Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, claimed after his client was released that he had conversations “with a few teams that are interested” in signing Brown, but that those teams wanted clarity on Brown’s legal situation and whether or not he would be suspended or placed on the exempt list by the league. ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reported that teams believed Brown was unlikely to be signed unless and until that clarity came.