Antonio Brown has remained a frequent topic in NFL headlines for years, often due to controversial comments or questionable behavior. His latest outburst came during a TikTok livestream, where he claimed the Pittsburgh Steelers betrayed him by awarding JuJu Smith-Schuster the MVP honor in 2018 and later allowing T. J. Watt to surpass him with five of his own.
Antonio Brown Claims Steelers ‘Betrayed’ Him
“How do you give the guy that fumbled our season the F**king MVP?” Brown ranted. “You know why? because that would’ve been my fifth one. They let T.J. Watt pass me up in MVPs for the Steelers. I was supposed to have the most.”
“The Steelers team MVP Award is presented annually to the team’s most valuable player, as voted on by the players,” according to the team website. Brown was awarded the team MVP in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Additionally, had Smith-Schuster not earned the award in 2018, Brown believes he would have earned his fifth team MVP and become the franchise’s all-time leader.
𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚: Antonio Brown goes OFF on the Steelers saying they betrayed him by giving JuJu Smith-Schuster the team MVP over him in 2018.
“Imagine your own team betrays you. Yalla bye. How do you give the guy that fumbled the season the MVP?!?”
😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/6Q8T17n1OW
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 18, 2026
Instead, Watt, who secured the award in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024, finds himself at the top of the all-time list, and above Brown, who finished his Steelers career with four team MVPs. Notably, in 2020, Watt posted a 99.1 impact score, ranking 1st among all edge rushers according to PFSN’s EDGE Impact metrics.
Comparing Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster’s 2018 Seasons
Catching passes primarily from the slot in his second NFL season, Smith-Schuster was absolutely electric. Across 16 contests, he hauled in 111 of 166 targets for 1,426 receiving yards and 7 touchdown scores. Smith-Schuster topped Brown in both receptions and receiving yards, while ranking 8th and 5th among all NFL pass-catchers, respectively.
Meanwhile, Brown, who was the reigning team MVP and, at the time, arguably still in his prime, was nothing short of amazing. The seven-time Pro Bowler caught 104 of 168 targets for 1,297 yards and a league-high 15 receiving touchdowns across 15 games. The yardage total also marked Brown’s 6th consecutive season of 1,000 or more.
Pittsburgh finished the season with a 9-6-1 record, falling just one game short of a playoff birth. As Brown noted, the failure was partly due to Smith-Schuster’s fumble against New Orleans in Week 16. Then again, the blame cannot solely be placed on one play, which Brown is clearly struggling to come to terms with.
Regardless of what Brown may think, every player on the Steelers roster had a say in who was most deserving of the award, and that season, Smith-Schuster earned the honor. Along with posting elite production on the field, Smith-Schuster’s second-year impact appeared to resonate strongly within the Steelers locker room.
