Antonio Brown’s Wildest NFL Meltdowns
Former NFL star Antonio Brown is back in the news. The former pro-bowler has been extradited from Dubai to face attempted murder charges in Florida. The extradition was a long time in the making. A warrant for Antonio Brown’s arrest was issued back in June 2025; it stemmed from a shooting incident that occurred the month prior. He fled the country shortly before or around the time the warrant was issued and was only returned to the United States in recent days. While Brown’s latest string of issues is certainly the most serious he has faced, legally, he has a long and rather infamous history of behavioral issues. We collected three instances of wild, yet not illegal, behavior he exhibited during his NFL career that caused friction with the teams he was on and ultimately led to the end of his NFL career.
In 2017, he livestreamed a private conversation with his Pittsburgh Steelers team
Antonio Brown’s shooting case is a legal problem, but he’s been having professional problems for years. In 2017, Antonio Brown was a star receiver on the Pittsburgh Steelers. His on-the-field play was exceptional, but his locker room behavior was anything but. In one viral moment, Brown used Facebook Live to Livestream a post-game speech given by Mike Tomlin. The social media moment happened after the Steelers bested the Kansas City Chiefs in a playoff game.
Brown was live for 17 minutes and relished the attention he was getting from followers. What he didn’t relish was the attention he got from the NFL afterwards. Brown was in breach of the league’s policy on social media usage in the locker room. He was fined and issued a public apology. Believe it or not, it was one of his tamer moments.
He eventually left the Pittsburgh Steelers when his locker room antics were deemed detrimental to the team’s culture. Brown experienced some challenging moments with other receivers, as well as with the then-quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. He was largely deemed difficult.
In 2019, he froze his feet with cryotherapy and feuded with the GM of the Raiders
The label of difficult followed him to his next team. After his tenure with the Steelers ended, Brown joined the Raiders, although his time with the team was extremely short-lived. It all started during the pre-season when Brown, against protocol, entered a cryotherapy chamber without protective footwear. The result was frostbite on his feet, which kept him out of training camp and made it difficult for the NFL star to get into tempo with his new team.
The same year, he had a massive falling out with the NFL after the league refused to make an exception for him regarding his helmet. According to the NFL, Brown wanted to wear a helmet that had been banned by the league for safety reasons. The wideout refused to comply, insisting that it was the only helmet that worked for him. A lengthy standoff, once again, kept him out of practice. In the end, Brown was a member of the Raiders organization but never actually played a snap for them, largely due to the aforementioned issues and a rumored falling out with the team’s general manager.
In 2022, he quit mid-game
Antonio Brown bounced around the NFL after his release from the Raiders, eventually landing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. One would think the wideout would have learned his lesson, but he created more drama there. On January 2, 2022, Antonio Brown ended his NFL career in a bizarre fit. In the third quarter of a perfectly average game, he ripped off his jersey and shoulder pads and trotted out of MetLife Stadium.
The meltdown appeared to have had no apparent cause at the time. According to ESPN, the following day it was revealed that Brown had argued with Tampa Bay Buccaneers medical staff about an alleged injury. He claimed he had an ankle sprain, but the team claims he did not and implied that he refused to play. He was released from the team. It would be the last time he played in the NFL.
Since then, Antonio Brown has been in the news for a series of troubling behaviors. He recorded a conversation with a former partner and beefed with Tom Brady, for example. He had allegations of sexual misconduct and was accused of trashing a condo, too. His current arrest is, obviously, the most serious. It is the first time Antonio Brown has been accused of shooting at someone.
