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After Antonio Brown’s stint in Oakland came to a tumultuous end, he was picked up by the Patriots and played a single game for New England before getting axed last Friday after the team decided to distance itself from him thanks in no small part to the threatening text messages he sent to one of the women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
Brown was slated to receive the first installment of his $9 million signing bonus from the Patriots when Monday rolled around but the direct deposit never hit, which may or may not have had something to do with his brilliant decision to take aim at Robert Kraft over the whole “massage parlor” thing.
The wide receiver announced he would be filing a grievance against New England for violating the collective bargaining agreement, and if multiple NFL insiders are to be believed, he might also get a happy ending when everything is said and done.
This week, Yahoo Sports spoke to five different league sources about the matter and the unanimous consensus was that the Patriots did indeed violate the rules thanks to the clause that outlines the conditions under which contracts can be nullified.
Under the CBA, a player can be denied payment if they:
- Fail to report to practice or games unless they are dealing with “extreme personal hardship”
- Are unable to participate due to incarceration
- Suffer a non-football injury while engaging in an activity that was not sanctioned by the team
- Voluntarily retire
While the allegations against Brown are pretty serious, they didn’t land him in jail, and as a result, it would appear the Patriots don’t have much standing when it comes to denying him payment.