Antonio Brown's Tweet After Losing Helmet Hearing Proves He Was Bluffing About Retirement

Antonio Brown failed in his attempt to force the NFL's hand with this helmet issue, as an arbitrator ruled against him in a hearing on Monday. The wideout went as far as to threaten retirement from the league if he weren't permitted to wear his Schutt Air Advantage helmet, but now it looks like his stance has taken a complete 180.

After the arbitrator ruled against him, Brown posted on social media claiming to be focused on getting healthy and returning to the Raiders.

"While I disagree with the arbitrator's decision, I'm working on getting back to full health and looking forward to rejoining my teammates on the field. I'm excited about this season appreciate all the concerns about my feet ?!” #AlwaysAFight #Represent #itsbiggerthanme
— AB (@AB84) August 12, 2019

So, what happened to not needing football and stepping away from the game if you weren't catered to by the league? Did the thought of losing out on a guaranteed $30 million change his mind?

Or maybe, just maybe, AB was just bluffing this whole time.

Brown's tweet just shows that the NFL called his bluff and he's caving on his bold retirement statements. After losing the hearing, he's acting as if he never threatened to call it quits less than a week ago. Brown just wanted the NFL to give him superstar treatment, and he failed in achieving it.

An arbitrator ruled against Raiders’ WR Antonio Brown’s grievance to wear his old helmet, per source.

Now Brown must decide if he’s willing to play football with a new helmet he desperately does not want to wear.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 12, 2019

In his mind, it's back to business -- or trying to recover from literally freezing his feet -- but fans won't be so quick to forget the controversial debacle.

Now we just have to wait and see what AB does to get his name back in headlines next week.