Antonio Brown suggests helmet stunt was intentional?
Antonio Brown has finally chosen a new helmet after losing two grievances against the NFL, and the star wide receiver may have never actually cared about being able to continue wearing his old model. Was it all about the money?
On Wednesday, Brown announced that he will be wearing the Xenith Shadow helmet this season. He shared a message on Instagram calling the choice his “most calculated move by far” and used the hashtag “#StockPile.”
Xenith also issued a press release on Wednesday.
“NFL athletes have a choice in what helmet they wear. I choose Xenith,” Brown said in the release. “It’s not easy to make a change like this so far into your career, but the Xenith Shadow was the only helmet that could fit my needs on the field.”
The implication from Brown is that his plan all along was to parlay the helmet saga into an endorsement deal, which would actually make sense. No one could really understand why he would care that much about wearing a helmet that doesn’t meet NFL safety standards, so perhaps making more money was his motivation all along.
However, if that is the case, you have to wonder how Brown’s teammates feel about it. The helmet drama was a distraction during training camp, and he even missed some practices over it. If the way he publicly ripped the Raiders this week is any indication, Brown probably doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about his money-making stunt.