Antonio Brown quite literally ran himself out of the NFL late last season, when he took off his Buccaneers jersey mid-game against the New York Jets and left the field while yelling into the stands. The scene was surreal, and it’s hard to imagine him getting back into the league after that, but Floyd Mayweather isn’t buying Brown’s career being over.
Antonio Brown ran off the field shirtless after showing some frustration on the sidelines.@JenHale504 pic.twitter.com/Jet6ofnNm2
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 2, 2022
On the contrary, he’s looking to buy Brown back into the league. Mayweather, who appears to have grown very close to Brown, made NFL teams an offer on “The Pivot Podcast“: Sign Brown for $20 million, and if it doesn’t work out, Mayweather will reimburse the team that takes a shot on him.
“This is for any team that’s watching right now,” Mayweather said. “We’ll make them a deal. If they sign [Antonio Brown] and AB go through the whole season no problems at all, and then they got to give us $20 million, but if he mess up then we’ve got to give them $20 million. So if any team want to match that then reach out to us.”
It goes without saying this introduces a mess of logistical problems with Mayweather’s framing. Who is the NFL team giving $20 million to if Brown doesn’t have any problems? Is Brown getting signed to a contract with no guaranteed money? What constitutes a “problem”? It’s a bizarre proposal, and it seems like it’d be clearing a lot of red tape to sign a 33-year-old receiver…who has been a problem.
Adding another layer of complication to the idea of signing Brown, he told TMZ at the end of March that “it’s a lot for someone to go through a surgery without an idea of where you are going to work.” Meaning, without being signed by an NFL team, Brown won’t undergo surgery, which means the later into this offseason we get, the more his recovery timeline gets pushed back.
On the podcast, Mayweather also praised Brown’s character and said he’s “misunderstood.”
— AB (@AB84) April 8, 2022
If no team takes Mayweather– and Brown — up on this $20 million offer, the point is obviously moot. Frankly, it’s difficult to imagine a team doing so given the baggage Brown would bring.
MORE: What is Antonio Brown doing now? Latest updates after release from Buccaneers
However, if a team gets wide receiver-needy enough as the season grinds on, perhaps we’ll see the lines blur when it comes to Brown’s red flags. He was still productive last season, catching 42 passes for 545 yards and four touchdowns in just seven games. But there are other factors to consider.