Antonio Brown: Buccaneers offered $200K 'to go to the crazy house'

Weeks after seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Antonio Brown seemed to shockingly quit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during a game at the New York Jets on Jan. 2, he insisted on the "I Am Athlete" podcast that there is "nothing wrong with my mental health." 

Brown is now offering more information on his side of the story. 

Per Chris Mason of Mass Live, Brown and attorney Sean Burstyn sat down with Bryant Gumbel for an episode of HBO's "Real Sports" that will air on Tuesday evening, and the 33-year-old said his former employer wanted him to get treatment for supposed mental health issues. 

"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," he explained. 

Meanwhile, Burstyn added: 

"The offer 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 (Jason Licht), twice, 'Don’t spin this any other way.'"

Shortly after the Buccaneers officially released Brown, head coach Bruce Arians said the receiver's unhappiness at MetLife Stadium on the first Sunday of January was related to a lack of targets. Brown told Gumbel that was a "flat out lie" and that the Buccaneers knew he was dealing with a physical issue linked with the ankle injury he initially suffered in October. 

Brown and Burstyn continued that they could explore suing the Buccaneers for defamation. Logic suggests such a move may cause some franchises to think twice about signing Brown before next fall, but he currently seems content on watching the rest of the ongoing playoffs from the figurative sidelines of his home.