Antonio Brown Tells HBO the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offered Him $200k ‘to Go to the Crazy House’

Weeks after Antonio Brown’s topless outburst where he seemingly quit on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the ex-NFL wide receiver continues to quarrel over the cause of his episode.

Earlier this month, Brown stripped his uniform off and paraded into the locker room, while the Bucs were playing a game against the New York Jets. Soon after the incident, Brown was cut by the team.

After making the podcast rounds to discuss his divorce from Tampa Bay and essentially claim ‘it’s not me, it’s them,’ Brown’s next stop is HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. The interview will air Tuesday at 10 p.m., but HBO shared a preview of the show, featuring a surprising allegation from Brown.

“Yeah, these guys at Tampa Bay Bucs tried to make an agreement with me to give me $200,000 to go to the crazy house so these guys could look like they know what they’re talking about,” Brown said.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait” Gumbel interjected. “They offered you $200,000 for what?”

“The offer,” Brown’s lawyer Sean Burstyn began to explain. “Was Antonio would basically sit on the sidelines, go on some list and commit himself to some form of intensive mental health treatment. And we were specifically told, in writing, by the general manager, twice, ‘Don’t spin this any other way.’”

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians has claimed Brown’s outburst was caused because the 33-year-old wide receiver was upset about a lack of targets in the game. But according to Brown, his outburst was caused by being forced to play on an injured ankle.

Immediately after Brown stormed off an NFL field and quit on Tampa Bay, many people cited mental health as the cause for his outburst. It marked the fourth consecutive time Brown would leave an NFL franchise unceremoniously after his tenure was marred by self-inflicted incidents.

Brown, however, continues to maintain that the status of his mental health played no role in his departure from the Bucs. During the HBO clip, Brown and his lawyer claimed a defamation lawsuit against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organization is a possible future course of action.

Watch above via HBO