Antonio Brown Odds: Tampa Bay still -333 to re-sign WR

Antonio Brown returning to the NFL was one of the more interesting story lines of the NFL season in 2020-21.

It started from the very moment Tom Brady announced he was bringing his talents to the Sunshine State. In an interview with Tiki & Tierney on March 22, Tampa Bay head coach had the following to say about the veteran wide receiver.

"It's not gonna happen," he said of potentially adding the wide receiver. "There's no room. It's just not gonna happen. It's just not a fit here."

He also went on to say that Brown just wasn’t a fit in the locker room.

Brown signed with Tampa Bay on October 29. Just a week before, the Seattle Seahawks were the betting favorite, with the Buccaneers being tied for sixth at +1400.

Whether Arians was trying to throw insiders around the league off their trail, or Brady’s influence pushing and vouching for Brown, the two sides came to an agreement on a one-year deal with a base salary of $750,000. 

Even for a player who hadn’t played in the league since 2019, that was still a bargain for a receiver of Brown’s pedigree, especially since there really weren’t any signs of his on-field production tapering off. His off-the-field life conduct as we know was a completely different story.

But Brown’s incentives pushed his earnings far beyond that. He earned another $750,000 for helping the Bucs win a Super Bowl. While he fell short of the 650 yards and six touchdown marks that would have earned him $250,000 for each of those, he was able to add another quarter of a million by catching 45 passes, exactly the necessary amount for his incentive.

But there remains a lot to be seen on whether Brown signs back with the Super Bowl Champions, and I think there will be a series of moves before it becomes clearer as to what Brown’s future with the Bucs could be.

Buccaneers receiver Chris Godwin was a free agent but the team franchised him so he returns to the receiving corps. There were also rumors that the Bucs could be in position to make a trade for Odell Beckham Jr. If Tampa Bay was inclined to make such a move earlier in the off-season. That would likely have been the writing on the wall for their intentions for AB.

The Bucs are currently the favorite to retain Brown at -333. If he were to take a team friendly deal like he did this season, there should be no reason the Bucs don’t bring him back. But if Brown looks to parlay his success to try and be a No. 1 receiver on a struggling team and get one more big pay day, a shot to repeat as champs might not be enough to bring him back.