Antonio Brown Blames Tom Brady for Shirtless Exit to End NFL Career

The former wide receiver says the quarterback helped entice him to play through an ankle injury.

Antonio Brown’s last NFL game is a memorable one, as the wide receiver infamously removed his jersey and stormed off the field during a game against the Jets at the end of the 2021 season. The Buccaneers were down 14 points to the Jets late in the third quarter when a shirtless Brown decided it was time to head to the locker room.

Tampa Bay released Brown a few days later, while the wide receiver contended that the team forced him to play through an ankle injury. He hasn’t played since.

Brown addressed the situation Saturday on Tyreek Hill’s It Needed To Be Said podcast, and the former Buccaneer stood by his claim that the team expected him to play through injury.

Antonio Brown just tossed his uniform and equipment into the crowd and left the game

(via @NFLonFOX)pic.twitter.com/akW5Csa04l

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 2, 2022

“We about to play the Jets, and this week I am really hurt,” he said. “So I’m taking pictures to the coach like ‘If we’re going to win the Super Bowl, I’m going to need to take these last two weeks [of the regular season] at least recover up so I can give you my best; we here to win the Super Bowl,’ so the coach, [Bruce Arians], was like ‘Hey man, we ain’t resting.’”

In fact, Brown said that Tom Brady enticed him to play against the Jets by promising him targets.

“Tom called me like ‘Yo, this week man, the Jets man, they sweet man imma hit you with like 10 to 12 [targets],’” Brown said. “So, he gonna gas me up so you know me, that’s all I need to hear, like yo, you gonna throw me the ball.”

Update: Antonio Brown opens up about what led to the end of his NFL career.

What caused the meltdown in the #Jets game https://t.co/uaNVF6I9a3

(🎥 @cheetah_podcast with @cheetah)

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) June 23, 2023

At the time Brown exited the Jets game, he had recorded three receptions on five targets. The previous week, he had notched 10 catches on 15 targets against the Panthers.

Brown described his relationship with Brady as a “football relationship” in the podcast, saying that he and the former quarterback didn’t have much in common besides the game. While, Brown claims he doesn’t harbor much ill will toward Brady for not being a closer friend, he still believes Brady enticed him to play while injured.

“Tom Brady hit me up like ‘Yo, this is a big week,’” Brown said. “I know my s— f—-- up, but if he gonna gas me like that, why not? So I dressed up, suited up and once I got to New York, I already felt the bad energy.”

Now, nearly 18 months after the incident, Brown still believes the Buccaneers handled his situation poorly.

“They treated me like I was a dog,” Brown said.