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Based on everything that has been reported since Antonio Brown played one game for the New England Patriots in 2019, Tom Brady went out of his way multiple times to try to help the oft-troubled former NFL wide receiver.
Despite numerous legal issues, Tom Brady was instrumental in Antonio Brown signing with and playing for the Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers during Brown’s final three NFL seasons.
Brady even went so far as to let Antonio Brown live with him and his then-wife Gisele Bundchen in Tampa.
He also, once they were together in Tampa, went out of his way to make sure Antonio Brown hit his bonus target for receptions in 2021.
Things seemed to be very good between the two NFL stars.
Then, out of the blue, Antonio Brown infamously took off his uniform in the middle of a game in 2022, walked off the field, never to return, and has been denigrating Tom Brady ever since.
Brown has mocked Tom Brady’s divorce from Gisele Bundchen and posting fake nude photos of her.
He has also on more than one occasion shared text messages from Tom Brady that, one assumes, were supposed to paint the legendary QB in a bad light, but ended up doing the exact opposite.
Through it all, Antonio Brown has never explained what specifically happened to cause him to turn on a guy who had his back in the midst of all his legal issues and was a key to him finally getting a Super Bowl ring.
Until now.
This week on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Antonio Brown blamed Tom Brady for the rift.
Antonio Brown was asked by one of the hosts, “When you was walking off the field what was in your mindset?”
Antonio Brown having a meltdown in the middle of the game. Amazing lol pic.twitter.com/eFj3iEa9WI
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) January 2, 2022
“I was like, you know, how you know as a kid when you just know the people ain’t with you no more,” Brown replied.
“You know, when you play football, you know, it seemed like an individual game from the stats and the way it look on TV, but, you know, everyone depend on everyone. It’s a team game. So in a moment in life where you just know, you know, you’ve accomplished everything and you gave your all to everything and, you know, you realize that I’m gonna continue to, I’m gonna continue to be you know scrutinated, put down, to just be attacked, a takedown more so than uplift so when you realize that people around you and they fire you for a good cause and you know you you feel good that you finally do what’s best for yourself because now you ain’t got to deal with that.
“And for me that day at MetLife was like liberation, like, you know what I’m saying? Like, I already have played football to make the money, you know? I was just doing it, you know, to win more, you know, be a champion. So at that point where you realize, you know, team ain’t with you, the organization ain’t with you, the quarterback not with you was like…”
“But wait, Tom wasn’t with you?” one of the hosts then interjected. “Cause Tom called you up.”
After explaining how the organization and Tom Brady didn’t have the same vision he had as a wide receiver, Brown then said, “Now when we get the ring in 2021… the next year I’m the last guy that’s signed. My agent Ed Wasielewski is getting called, cursed out by Tom Brady over why is he pushing back for the contract for scraps. Imagine if you heard that, the same guy that brought you in to win a ring, the same agent he told you to hook up with to get the deal, is now telling me, the guy’s calling him, saying, yo, cursing him out about scraps of a contract.”
So it was basically all about money and the fact that Tom Brady didn’t have his back when he was trying to get paid.