Lawsuit Claims NFL One-Ring-Circus Antonio Brown Stiffed Private Chef For $38K

It's been a long August for NFL star Antonio Brown. Ahead of the upcoming season, many expected that the Oakland (and soon, Las Vegas) wideout would attract a great deal of attention, between his long-established presence as a walking controversy-generator and the Raiders being the subject of this year's Hard Knocks docuseries on HBO. Fewer might have expected that Brown would end up in the news over curiosities like cryogenic therapy injuries, subsequent gross pictures of his cryogenically injured feet, and alleged threats to abandon $30 million in guaranteed money over helmet preferences.

And now, just as Brown finally returned to Raiders training camp earlier this week, he can throw a lawsuit atop the pile. ESPN reports that Brown is being sued by chef Stefano Tedeschi, who claims that Brown refused to pay him an agreed-upon $38,521.20 for private culinary services around the time of the 2018 Pro Bowl:

Brown rented an Orlando-area mansion and hired the chef to prepare food for multiple days, a culinary show and other services for nearly 50 Pro Bowl teammates and many other party guests, Tedeschi told ESPN in an interview Wednesday.

Brown wrongfully terminated the agreement and did not allow Tedeschi to retrieve his equipment and food from the premises, the lawsuit states. A Brown associate told Tedeschi not to make eye contact with Brown on his way out, Tedeschi told ESPN.

In a statement, Brown's attorney replied that "We expect to be filing a motion to dismiss the complaint and will let the filing speak for itself." If proven accurate, Tedeschi's lawsuit will be the latest in an endless series of reminders that the rich inhabit a different reality from most of us poor slobs, allowing them to blow $38,000 and think that this is a good idea: "Brown later offered to pay Tedeschi in social media advertising, which Tedeschi said he didn't accept."

If not, well, that's just another day in the Antonio Brown news cycle, and we're all along for the wild ride.