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Antonio Brown Reveals the Reason for His Breakup with Tom Brady was the GOAT Cussed Out His Agent

Mike Ehrmann. Getty Images.

In this dark, grim world we've created, there are few things sadder than seeing a beautiful friendship torn asunder. And there have been no splits between soulmates quite as painful to watch as the breakup between Tom Brady and Antonio Brown. Nor any that have been as hard to explain. 

One minute, they're teammates for the second time. Brady, very much over the objections of his then-head coach Bruce Arians who publicly vowed he would never coach Brown again, plucks his one-time Patriots receiver off the suspended list and gives him a home. Both in the professional sense and the literal, personal sense, by moving Brown into his family's house in Tampa. As a reward, both men win a ring. Brown catches a touchdown pass in the final seconds of the first half of the Super Bowl. Clearly these two were putting the second "F" in BFFs. 

But tragically, their Happily Ever After ended with Brown pulling a half-Ned Braden on the field against the Jets, never to return. And neither man has ever fully explained what happened. Or how their bromance degenerated into animosity on the level of this:

That is, until now:

"So now when we get the ring in 2021, I'm the last guy that 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 not telling me, the guy’s calling him, saying, yo, cursing him out about scraps of a contract."

"I give everyone their props from a team standpoint, as far as the team, but you know, we all got our own agendas in the midst of the team. So when you’re an older player, you getting deals like that, you feel like, and I’m telling, my agent’s telling me already before the season that this guy, who he hooked me up with, is calling him, cussing him out about the contract."

For the record, Brown ended up signing a one year deal for up to $6.25 million, with incentives. 

And so, an already sad situation only gets sadder. Once again, a beautiful relationship is destroyed, not by betrayal, lies, or fighting over a woman. But because of that ancient root of all evil, money. 

Now, why Brady would be taking the team's side over his teammate's is anyone's guess. I suppose it speaks to the fact his No. 1 priority was always winning, above all else. Which is why he never demanded the sort of pay his lesser contemporaries like Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers were commanding. But it may have more to due with the fact that long before the 2021 offseason, Brady had seized the reigns of power in Tampa and was running the organization. And GM Tom simply wanted to keep this uniquely talented WR for QB Tom. 

All I do know is that under these circumstances, it's hard to blame AB for his reaction. Who among us would not have done the same? A co-worker angrily calls up your legal representative, uses impolite language and sailor talk to demand he get you to stick with the company, perhaps against your best interests? I think the only appropriate reaction is to post your private conversations with that person on social media and put out deepfakes to suggest you're having sex with that person's ex-spouse. That's the logical response of a rational mind. 

So finally, it all makes sense. If a guy swears at your agent, there's no reason not to celebrate all his defeats, take pleasure in his personal setbacks, post his private thoughts, and photoshop his ex-wive onto someone else's naked body. And anyone who hasn't been on Brown's side in all this owes him an apology.