Antonio Brown Biography

Antonio Brown (born July 10, 1988) is an American football wide receiver, and a punt returner for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Central Michigan, where he was named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News as a punt returner in 2008 and 2009.

In his junior year, Brown hauled in 110 receptions for 1,498 yards and 9 touchdowns while helping lead the Central Michigan Chippewas to their second Mid-American Conference championship in three years and a Top 25 finish in the nation in the final January 2010 AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll.

High school career

Miami Norland High School

Brown attended Miami Norland High School in Miami, Florida, where he was a two-sport athlete in both football and track. In football, Brown played running back, quarterback, wide receiver and punt returner for the Vikings, and ran for 451 yards with 13 touchdowns, while he threw for 1,247 yards and 11 scores in just five games. He was a two-time Class 6A all-state selection, and was also named North Athlete of the Year at 2005 Miami-Dade Gridiron Classic. In track & field, Brown was a two-time state qualifier in the 100-meter dash, and also ran the fourth leg on the Norland 4x100 m relay squad, helping them capture the state title at 41.50 seconds. He spent a prep year in 2006 at North Carolina Tech. In only 5 games his only year ar North Carolina Tech, he passed for 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 451 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a returner, he returned 11 kickoffs and 6 punts for touchdowns.

NorthCarolina Tech Prep

Coming out of high school, Brown applied to Florida State University. His admission would be denied over academic concerns. After attempting to attend Alcorn State, he decided to enroll at North Carolina Tech. Once he finished his season playing quarterback at North Carolina, he received a scholarship to play at Florida International University but was expelled before the season for an altercation with security. Antonio Brown then began reaching out to Coach Butch Jones of West Virginia , since he was highly recruited by him. After learning that Jones had left West Virginia, Brown began attending Central Michigan, where he was a walk-on freshman.

College career

Freshman season

Brown began attending Central Michigan in 2007 after Central Michigan wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni reached out to him and told him he could fly to Michigan, try out for the team, and attempt to walk on. Transitioning from his quarterback position in high school to wide receiver wasn't that difficult for him. After a few weeks, CMU coaches offered him a scholarship. Brown had difficulty with the college lifestyle and being on time for meetings and practice. Azzanni and his wife helped him get situated and established with it and he soon became a part of their family. During his first season at Central Michigan, Brown played in 14 games. He played well enough to win the Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year and was All-Conference as a returner. For his freshman season he had 102 receptions, 1,003 receiving yards, and 6 receiving touchdowns.

Sophomore season

Brown started every game during his sophomore season in 2008. Against Temple, he had 3 receptions, 33 receiving yards, and a season high 2 touchdown receptions. On November 28, while playing at Eastern Michigan he had 7 receptions, 1 touchdown, and a season high 172 yards. For the season he amassed 93 receptions, 998 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns.

Junior season

Against Akron, on September 26, 2009, he had 9 receptions, 89 receiving yards, and a season high 2 touchdowns. Throughout the 2009 season he had 5 games with over 100 receiving yards. For his last regular season game on January 6, 2009 against Troy he would have a season high 13 receptions for 178 yards. This would mark the best season, statistically, that Brown would have. He finished 2009 with career highs of 110 receptions, 1,198 receiving yards, and 9 touchdowns. For his career at Central Michigan, he had 305 receptions, 3,199 receiving yards, and 22 touchdowns. On January 7, 2010, he announced he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.

Professional career

2010 NFL Combine

Pittsburgh Steelers

Brown announced on January 7, 2010, that he would forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 NFL Draft. He was selected by the Steelers 195th overall in the 6th round.

2010

On September 19, 2010, against the Tennessee Titans, Brown made his regular season debut and had 128 yards on 3 returns (2 kickoffs, 1 punt), including an 89-yard touchdown from a reverse on the first play of the game. On October 3, 2010, Brown made his first career catch for 6-yards during a 14-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. During a Week 17 contest against the Cleveland Browns, Brown made a season-high 4 catches for 52-yards. In the AFC North Divisional Playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens, Brown caught a 58-yard pass on 3rd & 19 from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to set up the game-winning touchdown. He finished his first playoff game with a season-high 75-yards on 3 receptions. The following week in the AFC Championship against the New York Jets, at the two-minute warning, Brown caught a 14-yard pass on 3rd & 6, sealing the victory for Pittsburgh. During the Steelers' 25-31 Super Bowl XLV loss to the Green Bay Packers, Brown only made one catch for a yard.

2011

On October 30, 2011, Brown had a season-high 9 catches for 67-yards and made his first career touchdown reception in a 25-17 victory over the New England Patriots. Brown received his first career start on November 13, and finished the game with 5 receptions and 86 receiving yards in a game against the Bengals. On December 4, 2011, Brown returned his first punt return for a touchdown against the Bengals, and was also named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He made his second start of his career during a Week 14 win over the Cleveland Browns. He ended the game with 5 catches for a season-high 151-yards and also scored a 79-yard touchdown reception.

In 2011, Brown became the first player in NFL history to have more than 1,000 yards receiving and returning in the same year. For his efforts, Brown was selected as a punt returner for the Pro Bowl.

2012

On July 28, 2012, Brown signed a 5-year, $42.5 million extension with the Steelers that included an $8.5 million signing bonus. On November 4, 2012, Brown was fined $10,000 by the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct when he ran backwards for the final 20 yards of a punt return touchdown against the Washington Redskins.

2013

Following back-to-back breakout seasons for Brown in 2011-2012, and a contract extension the following year, Mike Wallace would leave via free agency after negotiations for a new extension for himself went unanswered. On December 22, 2013, Brown broke Yancey Thigpen's team record of 1,398 receiving yards set in 1997. Brown also became only the second Steeler to amass at least 100 receptions in a season, joining former teammate Hines Ward. On December 29, he, along with Pierre Garon of the Washington Redskins, tied Jimmy Smith as the only players to record at least five receptions in every single game of an NFL season in a win against the Browns, all while becoming the only receiver in NFL history to ever record five receptions for at least 50 yards in every single game of an NFL season. On December 27, 2013, Brown was selected for the Pro Bowl as a receiver and a punt returner. On January 3, 2014, Brown was named to the AP All-Pro team for the first time in his career.

2014

On September 10, 2014, Brown returned a punt against the Cleveland Browns. During the return, Brown jumped, then kicked the Cleveland Browns' punter, Spencer Lanning, in the face. Brown later apologized, claiming it was an accident. On September 11, 2014, Brown was fined $8,200 for kicking the punter. On October 20, 2014, Brown threw his first career touchdown pass, a 3-yard pass to Steelers wide receiver Lance Moore. In 2014 Brown led the NFL in receptions, yardage, and was tied for second in touchdowns. Brown has extended his record of recording 5 catches for 50 yards to 32 consecutive regular season games. Browns' 2014 campaign saw him best his franchise-record yardage mark of 1,499 yards by gaining 1,698 yards on 129 catches, the highest total of catches in Steelers' history and second in NFL history, to go with a franchise-record 13 receiving touchdowns.

2015

On September 10, 2015, Antonio Brown caught 9 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots in the first game of the 2015 NFL season. The following week, Brown caught nine passes for 195 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. This brought his career total to 5,587 yards, good for 200th on the NFL's all time receiving yards list. He also moved past Steelers' legend Lynn Swann on the all-time list. With 108 yards on 11 catches the following week, Brown was #1 in the NFL for receiving yards by a large margin, but that week, starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went down due to injury, and he was replaced with veteran Michael Vick. Brown remained first on the receiving yards list after week 4, where he only had 5 receptions for 42 yards, but he slipped down to third after he only caught 3 catches for 45 yards. On November 8, 2015, Brown caught a career high 17 receptions against the Oakland Raiders for a career high 284 yards, the ninth most single-game receiving yards. Brown also had 22 yards on 2 rushes, finishing the game with 306 yards overall. On December 6, Brown had 3 touchdowns against the Indianapolis Colts, who the Steelers overcame to win 45-10. This game is notable for the play in which Brown returned a punt for a touchdown and then proceeded to leap into the goalpost before hugging it and then falling off of it. He was flagged on the play for excessive celebration. On December 9, he was fined $11,576 by the NFL for embracing with the goalpost. After his 13-reception, 187-yard performance against the Browns in the season finale, he amassed 136 receptions for 1,834 yards and 10 touchdowns - the first two shattering his own team records of 129 catches and 1,698 yards. With the 136 receptions, he set two NFL records: most receptions in a two-year span with 265; and most receptions in a three-year span with 375. Along with his 16 receptions against the Browns, Antonio Brown became the first receiver to post two 16+ catches in a single season, and his four games of 175+ yards in a season is also a NFL record.

Late in the fourth quarter of the Wildcard game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Brown left the game with a concussion after taking a hit by Bengals defenders. The injury kept Brown out of the Divisional round, where his team lost 23-16 to the eventual Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos.

Personal life

Brown is the son of retired Arena Football League star Eddie Brown, who is considered the best Arena League football player of all time. His father played wide receiver for the Albany Firebirds and collegiate football for Louisiana Tech. He has four children; sons Antonio Brown Jr., Autonomy Brown, and Ali Brown, as well as a daughter, Antanyiah Brown. Brown grew up in the Liberty City section of Miami where he played for T.Y. Hilton's father as a kid. He says as a youth he lacked guidance after leaving home due to conflicts with his stepfather. During his senior year of high school, during a 6-month stretch, he moved around, staying on whatever friend's couches he could find. At one point he even stayed with Norland Assistant Coach James Upton, during his year at North Carolina Tech Prep. He was so thin in high school that his nickname was "Boney Tony". He is also the cousin to New York Jets wide receiver Kenbrell Thompkins.

Career statistics

Season	Team	G	Receiving					Rushing					Fumbles
			Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Lng	Att	Yds	Avg	TD	Lng	Fum	Lost
2010	Pittsburgh Steelers	9	16	167	10.4	0	26	--	--	--	--	--	1	0
2011	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	69	1,108	16.1	2	79T	7	41	5.9	--	10	--	--
2012	Pittsburgh Steelers	13	66	787	11.9	5	60T	7	24	3.4	--	13	4	2
2013	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	110	1,499	13.6	8	56	7	4	0.6	--	10	1	0
2014	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	129	1,698	13.2	13	63T	4	13	3.3	--	9	2	2
2015	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	136	1,834	13.5	10	59	3	28	9.3	--	16	2	1
Total		86	526	7,093	13.5	38	79T	28	110	3.9	0	16	10	5