TAMPA, Fla — One of the gloves that belonged to Antonio Brown when he left MetLife Stadium during a game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets has sold for thousands of dollars.
The single glove sold for $16,912 in the Lelands 2022 Winter Pop-Up Auction that ran from Jan 30. to Feb. 12, the auction site says.
The starting bid was $81 and 53 bids later, the price went from $1,890 on Feb. 1 to $14,093 on Feb. 12 before the glove was sold to the highest bidder.
The otherwise ordinary glove is white with a black Nike Swoosh logo. The outside has a Raiders logo that's been blacked out from when Brown played for the organization. The outer backside of the wristband has "Superbad" imprinted on it.
It's described as a "tangible memento from an iconic NFL moment" on the bidding site. In the weeks after Brown's bizarre mid-game exit, the star wide receiver shared his side of what led to the moment that had everyone up in arms.
In a statement obtained from Brown's agent, Sean Burstyn, Brown explained that head coach Bruce Airans pressured him to play through his injury, but he "relented."
"I suited up, the staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team," Brown's statement read.
After feeling like he couldn't play on his ankle anymore, Brown said he took a seat, at which point Arians approached him.
"I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with you?' I told him, 'It’s my ankle.' But, he knew that. It was well-documented and we had discussed it. He then ordered me to get on the field. I said, 'Coach, I can’t.' He didn’t call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, 'YOU’RE DONE!'"
Brown added that "I didn't quit. I was cut." He then ends the statement by saying he plans to return to football once he is back to 100 percent.
Arian denies Brown's account and said in a news conference days later, "At no point in time during that game did he ever ask the trainer or a doctor about his ankle."
Arians said Brown was mad he wasn't getting the ball more.
"It started again on the sideline. 'I ain't playing.' 'What's going on?' 'I ain't getting the ball.' That's when I said, 'You're done. Get the [expletive] out of here,'" said Arians.
Since then, Brown has appeared in interviews explaining his side of the story and has talked about his future in the NFL.