Antonio Brown, bare-chested and flashing the peace sign, jogged off the field at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday, leaving behind a football game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and, possibly, his N.F.L. career. His premature exit — it was only the third quarter — was either an act of extreme subordination or a refusal to compromise his health, or, perhaps, both.
The Buccaneers finalized that exit by announcing on Thursday that they had released Brown, terminating his $3.1 million contract, and contesting his assertion of the events that led to his departure.
Brown's 12-year N.