Amon-Ra St. Brown Dismisses Brother's New Team

Amon-Ra St. Brown doesn't think too highly of New Orleans Saints.

Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown dyed his hair \"Honolulu Blue\" for the playoffs. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Detroit Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had an enviable offseason.

Coming off an All-Pro 2023 campaign, the 2021 fourth-round pick received a hefty four-year, $120 million contract extension. As part of the new deal, he's set to make around $30 million a season.

Going into the offseason, St. Brown – the owner of two consecutive 100-plus catch, 1,100-plus yard seasons – knew that a new contract was inevitable.

“I knew something was going to happen eventually, after the season. I just didn't know when,” Amon-Ra said on the latest episode of “The St. Brown Brothers Podcast,” co-hosted by him and his brother, Equanimeous. “Talked to my agent, Joby Branion, he told me he was going to start talking to them when the season's over, but it might take awhile. It could either go really quick, really long or might just take a few months. So, I knew going into it, I knew the Lions wanted to get a deal done. We wanted to get something done on our end, and it took about three-four months. 

“But, Joby said it was one of the smoothest deals he's ever done for big deals. So, that was good news. But, I was excited, thankful for people that helped me get here, you guys, my family, just everything. It was great.” 

As much as inking the new deal was a great, sentimental moment for Amon-Ra and his family, the fourth-year pro didn't cry upon signing it.

“I was in the car and talking to papa, like boom, boom, boom. And then he hung up, and I was like, ‘Damn, should I cry?’ But, once you think should I cry, it's f*****g too late, don't cry,” a laughing St. Brown said. “If you had to think, ‘Should I cry?’ Don't f*****g cry. So, I didn't cry.” 

While Amon-Ra got a rich new contract from the Lions, the Ford-run organization didn't make a single attempt to sign Equanimeous this offseason. Equanimeous, who spent the past two seasons with the Chicago Bears, was an unrestricted free agent, and signed with the New Orleans Saints. 

“Lions didn't want me,” Equanimeous said. "That's crazy. I'm a free agent, (and) Lions didn't want me. He (Amon-Ra) ain't show no love. He ain't talk to Dan Campbell, he ain't talk to nobody. I'm a Saint now." 

Amon-Ra made it clear during the podcast that he doesn't think too highly of his brother's new team. He doesn't believe the Saints, which went 9-8 and failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2023, have any chance of playing for a Super Bowl this upcoming season.

"Only one team won the Super Bowl, and we're chasing it. We're actually chasing it," St. Brown said of the Lions while dissing Equanimeous and New Orleans. "You guys, everyone gets in the team meeting room, and coach is like, 'What do you want to do? What are your goals?' No one in your (expletive) room thinks that you're going to win a Super Bowl."

"No one in your fu***ng room thinks they're going to win a Super Bowl."

The Lions vs. Saints smack talk between Amon-Ra and Equanimeous is underway 😅 pic.twitter.com/ZyuUXqaUy6

— St. Brown Podcast (@StBrownPodcast) July 11, 2024

As part of Amon-Ra St. Brown's busy offseason, he also threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Detroit Tigers game in May. While it wasn't one of the worst first pitches ever thrown, it also wasn't one of the greatest. Equanimeous made it clear to him that he “messed up” the first pitch. 

“Yeah, I warmed up. I was throwing lasers,” Amon-Ra said in response to Equanimeous' question about whether he warmed up prior to the ceremonial throw. “But, you know, warm-up is different than when you get out there. So, I warm-up, I'm throwing lasers. Somebody says, ‘Oh, you throw really good.’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, I know. I'm an athlete. S**t's easy.’”

It was “easy” for the Lions star receiver until he heard the fans at Comerica Park start cheering for him. 

“I get out there, boom. St. Brown for the Lions, so many yards, they all start applauding. I hit my s**t,” St. Brown told Equanimeous. “Don't worry, I'm going to hit this on my first touchdown, too. Boom, boom. …. Then, I’m like what, and they're like throw it. And I said, ‘Oh, s**t.’ So, I get up there, boom. I get back and as I'm throwing, I've seen videos of dudes missing bad. I just want to get it to him. But, I don't want to throw an airball like a soft one. I want to get it to him, too. I don't want to throw it soft. So, I kind of threw it hard. Okay, if you watched the video, it looks like he just caught it right away. But, it literally skipped right by the plate. It skipped and went right into his (Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty's) glove.” 

The St. Brown brothers kept the trash talk going as they got into the primetime schedule for each of their respective teams. The Lions will play in five primetime contests and nine nationally-televised games in 2024. Meanwhile, the Saints will suit up for three primetime matchups (and no additional nationally-televised games).

One of those national TV games for Detroit happens to be its annual Thanksgiving Day tilt. In 2024, it pits Dan Campbell's squad with Caleb Williams and the NFC North rival Chicago Bears. 

To Equanimeous, the yearly Thanksgiving game for the Lions is nothing more than “a charity event” for an organization which over the years has played very few games in front of a national TV audience. To no surprise, Amon-Ra didn't take too kindly to his brother's description.

“You can't keep talking s**t on the Lions, like those days are over with,” Amon-Ra expressed. “Do you know who we are? “You can't keep talking crazy on the Lions. You know why? What are you gonna say? All you can say is we choked in the NFC Championship.” 

Equanimeous then quipped back, “That's it. That's pretty big. It's pretty bad.”

St. Brown and the Lions had a banner year in 2023 – one which did end in an NFC Championship Game loss to the San Francisco 49ers. 

St. Brown is now viewed as one of the game's most prolific receivers, while Detroit has become a popular pick to represent the NFC in Super Bowl LIX.  

Building off that popularity, St. Brown was one of the receivers featured in the new Netflix series, “Receivers.” The show chronicled the 2023 seasons – both on and off the field – for St. Brown and a variety of other big-name pass-catchers, including the Raiders’ Davante Adams and the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson. 

“I'm excited, I haven't seen the whole thing yet. I've only seen some parts. So, I'm excited to go watch the whole thing in its entirety, with all the athletes,” St. Brown said of the Netflix show. “You know, I was talking to Davante, I feel like everyone's story is different, like everyone's outcome is different. Obviously, his with the Raiders was probably not how he wanted it to go. Justin Jefferson got hurt. The ‘Niners go all the way to the Super Bowl but don't win. We get close. So, everyone's story's different, everyone's background's different. And, I think Netflix is going to do a great job of showing the fans, not just what we do on the field. On the field, you guys understand how much goes into preparation and actually playing, but also off the field, the kind of people that we are, our family, what makes us tick.”