Since his third-quarter exit from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last weekend, Antonio Brown hasn’t necessarily been mum about the reasons for his departure — but he’s now gone into far more detail about those reasons. Sports Illustrated reports that Brown had a lengthy conversation with the podcast Full Send — and over the course of that interview, he candidly addressed his stint in Tampa Bay, his desire to continue playing football and his relationship with former teammate Tom Brady.
Over the course of the interview, Brown confirmed that he would like to continue playing football. “I still like to get in shape, I still like to compete, and it’s just getting started,” he said. “Obviously we had some stuff that went on. It’s all about integrity and handling people the right way, and you know, AB is a football first, I’m a football player first. That’s my business.”
Brown also addressed his relationship with Tom Brady, both on and off the field. “Tom is actually my friend, one of my close friends,” Brown said — but also emphasized that Brady can’t win on his own, and that the team’s wins have been a collaborative process.
“We’re all humans; we’re all dependent on someone else,” Brown said.
The conversation was revealing, but also contentious at times. At one point, Brown contrasted his contract with Tampa Bay to that of Rob Gronkowski. “If Tom Brady’s my boy why am I playing for earning salary?” Brown asked. As Sports Illustrated pointed out in their article, Gronkowski’s contract guaranteed him $8 million for the current season, four times what Brown was guaranteed.
The whole interview is worth a listen if you’ve been following the story of Brown’s departure — and it may well make an already complicated situation even more complex.
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