Antonio Brown Will Wear New Custom Helmet After Getting Lucrative Endorsement Deal Offers From Helmet Companies

The Antonio Brown helmet saga appears to be over.

Earlier this month the mercurial wide receiver threatened to retire after the NFL wouldn’t allow him to wear the same helmet he was worn throughout his career.

Via ESPN

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown has filed a grievance against the NFL to be allowed to wear the helmet he prefers, not one of the helmets that league rules mandate, league sources told ESPN on Friday.

Brown is expected to have a hearing about the helmet as early as next week, and an arbitrator will decide whether he gets to wear the one he wants.

Long-standing NFL rules requiring players to wear certified helmets say he can’t. The helmet that Brown is comfortable in and has worn throughout his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers — believed to be the Schutt Air Advantage helmet, which the company has discontinued making — is no longer certified by the National Operating Committee for Standards and Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE).

Today, it was announced that Brown lost his second grievance against the league over the helmet issue.

Brown has reportedly accepted the arbitrator’s decision and will choose a new helmet to wear next season. Apparently, Brown has helmet companies bidding for the opportunity to have him wear their helmet.

Via Pro Football Talk

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the “neutral, independent arbitrator” has found that Brown must find a new helmet model, and that he can not wear the Schutt AiR Advantage. It’s the second time Brown has lost a helmet grievance in less than two weeks.

Brown will accept the decision and move forward in a new helmet. He has narrowed his options, after hearing from multiple companies that wanted to customize a helmet, and that want to pay him to wear it. Thus, on top of the $30 million he’ll make over the next two seasons with the Raiders, he’ll get something more from a helmet manufacturer.

Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus confirmed that Brown is getting multiple offers from helmet companies.

Via Sirius XM NFL Radio

“On the bright side, as a result of all the publicity that has accrued from our efforts to get him to wear that helmet, he has multiple offers on the table right now from various helmet companies to custom make a helmet for him and pay him quite a bit of money,” Rosenhaus said. “Antonio will be wearing an approved helmet. He won’t miss any time, and he will be getting paid a lot of money to do so.”