Raiders Rumors: Antonio Brown Texted Owner Mark Davis Requesting Release

The Oakland Raiders reportedly submitted text messages from Antonio Brown to Raiders owner Mark Davis asking for his release, which will likely hurt Brown's grievance against the franchise.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported news of the texts, which were sent ahead of Brown's Sept. 7 release. The wideout is seeking roughly $30 million in guaranteed money from his contract that was voided when he was fined for conduct detrimental to the Raiders before his release.

Brown's financial battle with the Raiders seems unlikely to be successful. In addition to his texts with Davis, Brown also publicly demanded his release on Instagram. His fine for conduct detrimental came after a verbal altercation with general manager Mike Mayock at practice over another fine, this one for skipping out on practice due to displeasure with the NFL banning his preferred helmet.

Brown has a far stronger legal case against the Patriots, who released him after he sent threatening text messages to a woman who accused him of sexual misconduct. The Patriots kept Brown on their roster after an initial allegation of sexual assault by another woman, and a Sports Illustrated report followed that detailed the second woman's accusations and other acts of impropriety.

The franchise only released Brown after he sent text messages to the second woman that included pictures of her children.

The Patriots have thus far refused to pay Brown the $10 million in guarantees he was owed on his one-year contract. He has remained unsigned as the NFL conducts an investigation into his off-field conduct under the league's personal conduct policy.

Brown has not been charged with a crime nor has a police report been filed in either allegation of sexual misconduct.