Antonio Brown Returning to Tampa Bay on a One-Year Deal Worth $3.1M

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have retained the services of wide receiver Antonio Brown after he agreed to a one-year deal with the team.

Brown’s deal is worth $3.1M with a signing bonus of $2M but could be worth up to $6.25M due to incentives.

To make room for Brown’s contract, Tampa Bay restructured the deal of tight end Cameron Bate. Bate’s salary for next season was reduced to $1.075M but he will get a signing bonus of $2.425M under the new contract. That move created $4.69M in cap space for 2021, which was enough to make Brown put pen to paper his return to Tampa Bay.

The Bucs signed Brown before their Week 9 game against the New Orleans Saints last season after he had served an 8-game suspension for personal conduct. Initially, head coach Bruce Arians said AB was “not a good fit” in the Bucs’ locker room but after a meeting in October, Arians said that Brown had “matured” and he started giving the WR a chance. AB honored the trust and kept his name out of the headlines while becoming a key contributor on a great team.

Last Unsigned Significant Contributor of Super Bowl LV

Brown was the last significant contributor of Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl LV winning team that was still unsigned. He had five catches for 22 yards with one touchdown grab in the Bucs’ 31-9 win over the Chiefs. Although Brown wasn’t the Pro-Bowl player that he used to be, he still managed to get 45 catches for 483 yards in 8 regular season games. More importantly, Brown showed up when the team needed him most.

Buccaneers sign Antonio Brown to one-year contract, bring back every significant contributor from their Super Bowl-winning roster. https://t.co/q7teijQOU1

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) April 28, 2021

The 32-year old led the Bucs in receiving targets over the last five weeks of the regular season and did not record a drop in 2020. He also produced the highest yards after the catch of any Tampa Bay receiver at 5.82. And yes, he scored six touchdowns in his last six games played which made him a key contributor to their championship run.

AB will also enter the 2021 season with a clean state of mind after the four-time All-Pro receiver settled his civil dispute with former trainer Britney Taylor, who accused him of sexual assault in 2019 and caused him to be released by the Patriots and suspended by the league. With no more distractions in the rearview mirror, Brown should even have a more productive season for the Bucs.

Back to Back?

No team has won the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons since 2003-04 when the New England Patriots won Super Bowl 38 and 39. The Kansas City Chiefs were one win away from doing it last season but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers shut them down in Super Bowl LV. Now the onus is on the Bucs to replicate New England’s achievement.

First team to return all 22 Super Bowl starters since 1977…

We BACK back. 😏 pic.twitter.com/5HV9iWUXEz

— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) April 5, 2021

Tampa Bay has done everything possible to make it happen, at least in the offseason. The Bucs have made sure that all 22 starters from Super Bowl LV will return this season, the first time that’s happened in the salary cap era. But that’s not it. Tampa Bay is also returning all of its coordinators, its Top 16 snap count leaders on offense, and Top 21 snap count leaders on defense.

Sure, the Kansas City Chiefs are still the odds on favorite to win Super Bowl LVI at the best NFL betting sites. However, the Bucs are next and have closed the gap since the odds were first posted. According to online sportsbook SportsBetting.ag, Kansas City is the betting favorite at +550 with the Bucs second at +600. However, with the preparation that the Bucs have done during the offseason, it won’t be a surprise if those odds flip soon.