Antonio Brown spent just 11 days with the New England Patriots and made around $150,000 during his brief tenure with the team, as his first installment of guaranteed money was not due until Monday, Sept. 20. There is little chance the Patriots will give him that money, but Brown is expected to fight for it.
The one-year deal Brown signed with the Patriots included $10 million guaranteed, with $9 million of it coming in the form of a signing bonus due in two separate installments. Brown will have to file a grievance if he wants to pursue any of that money, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports. He will likely do just that, but the Patriots should have a strong case.
New England was said to be blindsided when Brown’s former trainer, Britney Taylor, filed a sexual assault lawsuit against him. Brown and Taylor had been in confidential legal talks for months prior to her filing the civil suit, and Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus admitted publicly that he and the star receiver knew it was coming. The Patriots will likely argue that Brown failed to disclose information about an issue that could have impacted his playing status.
Then there was a second accusation of sexual misconduct from a woman who spoke with Robert Klemko of Sports Illustrated. Two days after the story was published, Brown sent that woman harassing text messages and included his lawyer/inside circle on the texts. The woman sent the text messages to the NFL in an attempt to get the league to have Brown stop harassing and intimidating her. Brown sent the texts while employed by the Patriots, and there is almost certainly language in his contract that voids guaranteed money in the event of behavior like that.
If what was reported about Robert Kraft’s feelings on the texts from Brown is true, that should tell you all you need to know about whether or not the Patriots are planning to pay Brown. There’s also nearly $30 million in guaranteed money Brown had voided when he forced his way out of Oakland, so he will probably pursue that as well. There’s a good chance he comes up empty with both teams.
