Antonio Brown has had a lot to say about his former teams, now that he has hung up his cleats. What could have been a great career, as was evident in his initial years, was marred by constant friction between him and the top brass of his teams. When it came to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with whom he had a public showdown, Brown had a scathing remark.

In a TikTok live on May 24, Brown was seen taking out the trash. But instead of binning it and getting on with the day, Brown turned salty and deemed two of those bins to WRs Julio Jones and Odell Beckham Jr. It induced quite a bit of laughter from the other collaborator on the live session, who reminded Brown that Jones never quit on his team. That pushed Brown to throw a more caustic attack. 

“I’m bigger,” he said. “I’m bigger than the team.”

Buccaneer fans will not forget Brown’s infamous walkout during the Jets game in 2021. He pulled off his helmet, jersey, and pads, and went out of the stadium, waving to the shocked fans at MetLife Stadium. Mike Evans rushed to prevent Brown from taking off his uniform. But it was all in vain.

This was the last straw for Tampa Bay, as Bruce Arians terminated Brown’s contract immediately. The WR said in a statement later on that Brown was forced to play with an ankle injury. But that game marked his last appearance in the league.

It was an inevitable decision. Brown had piled on too many controversies, a pattern that is visible across the many teams he played for. He parted ways with the Steelers after being unhappy about his role in the offense. Brown was traded by the Oakland Raiders on an unceremonious note the year he was signed. The New England Patriots cut him after he was accused of sexual assault. And before his career ended with the Buccaneers, he had violated COVID protocols by falsifying his vaccination details, which earned him a suspension.

Brown has maintained that Tampa Bay had been treating him wrong. In 2023, appearing on Tyreek Hill’ podcast, the former Buc narrated how Tom Brady “gassed” him up about the Jets game, claiming he was going to get 10 to 12 passes.

“I already know they were being fake to me the whole time I was there,” Brown said. “I got suspended and I came back and they had some guys hurt, so they wanted to get everything out of me — they treated me like I’m a dog.”

Brown added that he showed Arians a picture of his ankles, but he was not rested. However, Brown also realized that he wasn’t getting those passes Brady had told him about. That’s when he decided it was over.

“You don’t want to throw me the ball and you making me like I’m crazy, so, I was like, ‘I’m crazy, f— all you motherf—ers, I’m out of here.'”

Brown otherwise had some great numbers on the board, going past the 1,000-yard mark seven times in his career. He also has 83 total touchdowns and had a great rapport with Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger. But Brown is remembered more for his off-field dramatics than for his game.

To this day, Brown believes he was a victim.

Antonio Brown attacks the Pittsburgh Steelers

The former WR made a name for himself in the black and gold. He said in 2024 that it was Roethlisberger who pushed the coaches to allow him to start, like he had been an afterthought until then. And Brown delivered, with all seven of those 1,000+ yard seasons coming during his stint with Pittsburgh.

Still, he felt he was wronged by them.

“Imagine if the NFL hate on you like that. What would you do if your own team betray you?” Brown said in a TikTok live. “They tried to make the number two (JuJu Smith-Schuster) be better than you. Yalla bye! Go sleep, Steelers. How you give a guy who fumbled our season the f*****g MVP? Know why? Because you’re jealous of AB.”  

Smith-Schuster famously fumbled during a play against the New Orleans Saints, which cost the Steelers an AFC North Title.

“That would’ve been my fifth one,” Brown continued. “They let T.J. Watt pass me up on MVPs for the Steelers.”

Antonio Brown left the team after that season and has struggled to find success since then. He’d been given many chances, but something or the other blew up before he could prove he was worth the risk.