Antonio Brown turns helmet saga into endorsement deal
Business is booming, as Antonio Brown would say.
The Oakland Raiders receiver’s helmet grievance with the NFL and NFLPA seemed to come to a conclusion on Sunday, with the the league and the players union rejecting Brown’s latest appeal attempt, according to multiple reports. Brown intends to wear a different helmet, per Pro Football Talk. And while it feels like an anticlimactic ending to an insane saga, you should know that Brown’s next helmet choice will be a part of an endorsement deal. That’s right, Brown has spun Helmetgate into a business opportunity. He’ll wear a custom-made model that comes with a payout.
Not a bad solution for Brown.
Coincidentally, that’s roughly how Brown’s situation with the Pittsburgh Steelers came to an end this offseason. Brown demanded a trade, which many thought impossible. Despite the countless hurdles, Pittsburgh sent Brown to Oakland, where Brown got a new contract with roughly $30 million guaranteed.
In the helmet saga, he didn’t get what he wanted from the NFL or the NFLPA, like he did against the Steelers. The league and the union dismissed the possibility of Brown wearing the Schutt Air Advantage helmet, a model which was banned this offseason for safety reasons. He attempted to hold out from Raiders camp while pushing the NFL and the PA to allow him to exploit a loophole, which the league eventually closed.
Brown lost his helmet grievance, but still ended up a winner. Brown spun drama into more cash — he’s as mercurial as he is entrepreneurial.