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Brown: dispute with the Raiders. Jeff Chiu
NFL

Antonio Brown released as Raiders void $30m contract ahead of season opener

Brown is now a free agent.

ANTONIO BROWN HAS been released by the Oakland Raiders two days before their opening game of the new NFL season.

Brown publicly called on the Raiders to release him as his high-profile dispute with the team continued, and Oakland confirmed his release on Saturday.

The star wide receiver signed a $50 million three-year deal to join the Raiders, with $30m of that money guaranteed.

ESPN report that Brown was fined over $215,000 for conduct detrimental to the team, which also allowed the Raiders to void the guarantee in his contract and release him.

Brown has been at the centre of controversy including a holdout due to a dispute with the NFL over helmet regulations, and was fined over $50,000 for missing mandatory practices and walk-throughs. 

The former Pittsburgh Steelers star was then reportedly facing a ban following a confrontation with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock, before he issued an apology and returned to training on Friday.

But Brown later posted this video that appeared to include clips of a conversation with head coach Jon Gruden in which he says: “I’ve been trying to be a Raider since day one.”

Antonio Brown / YouTube

“It’s time for me to control my own narrative,” he wrote alongside the video. “Show the world I’m not the bad guy.”

But this was followed by an Instagram post from Brown on Saturday that suggested his relationship with Oakland had soured once more.

He posted a quote: “You are gonna p*** a lot of people off when you start doing what’s best for you.”

Brown continued in the caption, challenging the Raiders to release him: “And that’s fine! I have worked my whole life to prove that the system is blind to see talent like mine.

“Now that everyone sees it, they want me to conform to that same system that has failed me all those years.

“‘I’m not mad at anyone. I’m just asking for the freedom to prove them all wrong’.

“Release me, @raiders. #NOMore #theyputblindersonahorseforareason #NoMoreFake”

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