Antonio Brown asks Raiders to release him in Instagram post
The Antonio Brown saga with the Oakland Raiders continued on Saturday, with the star wide receiver asking the team to release him on his Instagram page.
“Release me Raiders,” he wrote in the caption, adding the hashtag “#NOMore.”
The post itself contained a quote reading: “You are gonna piss a lot of people off when you start doing what’s best for you.”
Raiders voided guaranteed money
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brown could be asking for his release because the Raiders had voided nearly $30 million of guaranteed money in his contract after fining Brown for conduct detrimental to the team on Wednesday.
By fining Antonio Brown $215,073.53 last night for conduct detrimental to the team on Sept. 4, the Raiders voided the $29.125 million worth of guaranteed money in his deal, per league sources.
This could help explain why Brown is now asking the Raiders for his release.— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2019
Schefter also reported that the Raiders told Brown he would not be given termination pay if they released him.
Brown sent an email to ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, reportedly claiming that the team took away his guarantees and that he would not play in the season opener on Monday against the Denver Broncos.
I just got an email from Antonio Brown. He tells me the team “took away my guarantees.” He added there’s “no way I play after they took that and made my contract week to week.” So at this moment, once again, don’t expect AB to play on Monday Night Football.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 7, 2019
Brown was dealt to the Raiders in the offseason, but has sparked controversy almost from the minute he arrived at training camp, from missing practice due to frostbite to refusing to wear an NFL-mandated helmet.
The drama continues
Brown’s request comes a day after an eventful Friday for Brown, who offered an emotional apology to the team in the morning. He had gotten into a confrontation with GM Mike Mayock on Wednesday in which he reportedly used disparaging language and cussed out Mayock.
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Despite the rift, the Raiders planned to play Brown in the season opener on Monday. But on Friday night, Brown posted a video to his YouTube channel of what appeared to be a phone conversation between him and head coach Jon Gruden that Brown taped.
In the video, Gruden purportedly asks Brown to “stop this s—- and just play football,” with Brown insisting that he’s wanted to be a Raider since “day one.”
“Please stop this s—- and just play football. How hard is that?” Gruden said on the video. “You’re a great football player. Just play football.”
Brown said: “I don't know why it's a question of me wanting to be a Raider; it's like, do you guys want me to be a Raider?"
In the caption to the video, Brown called out false narratives and ended it with “Free me!”
It appears now that he quite literally wants to be freed from the Raiders.
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