Both the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots found Antonio Brown to be in breach of his contract and voided his guaranteed money after releasing him, but the star wide receiver is determined to make both teams pay him.
Brown is planning to file a total of eight grievances and appeals against the Patriots and Raiders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He is seeking more than $60 million in total, including the $29 million guaranteed that his Raiders contract included and the $9 million signing bonus he was supposed to get from New England. Brown is also seeking to have the Patriots pay him $20 million for the team option they had on his contract for 2020.
Brown’s ninth appeal could come against the NFL if he is eventually suspended, which seems likely. That would make him the first player to ever file nine appeals stemming from the same season.
It seems unlikely that the Raiders or Patriots will have to pay Brown, as they could argue he was in breach of the terms of his contract in a number of different ways. Brown intentionally forced his way out of Oakland, and his antics during training camp could easily be viewed as conduct detrimental to the team. The Patriots will likely point to the fact that Brown knew a sexual assault lawsuit could be filed against him and did not disclose it to the team before they signed him. The text messages he sent to the second woman who accused him of sexual misconduct also may have been a violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
Even if Brown is somehow successful in one or more of his grievances against the Patriots, many believe owner Robert Kraft will make Brown take further legal action in order to get his money. Brown took a shot at Kraft during one of his recent social media rants, which probably did not sit well with the 78-year-old.
