Will Antonio Brown Become a Hall of Famer?: Terrell Suggs Cites OJ Simpson As Example

For the last few years, debate around Antonio Brown’s Hall of Fame candidacy has gained steam among fans simply due to how polarizing a figure he is. But if one were to evaluate his career strictly from an on-field lens, there is no dispute.

Brown is one of the greatest WRs in NFL history, stacked with seven Pro Bowls, four First-Team All-Pro selections, a Super Bowl ring, and a place on the 2010s All-Decade Team. So statistically and stylistically, he is every bit a Hall of Fame-level talent. But from an off-field lens? That is where many fail to give a clear answer.

This week, Ravens legend Terrell Suggs was hit with the same question, and his response captured the complicated truth. The retired OLB, who battled Antonio Brown twice a year in the AFC North, made it clear that AB was every defender’s nightmare.

“He tortured me during his duration in Pittsburgh… we could never really get ahold of him,” Suggs admitted. Even in an era when defenders could still deliver shots over the middle, AB84 was untouchable, Terrell recalled.

But when asked if the ex-Steelers WR was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, the former Defensive Player of the Year didn’t hesitate. “I wouldn’t think so … he’s got a lot of stuff on [him].” And that’s where Suggs’ comparison took a sharp turn, as he pointed straight towards Canton’s darkest precedent.

“They let another murderer in the 90s… I bet you they would have waited if they could,” he said.

It was a clear reference to O.J. Simpson, whose bust still sits in Canton because Hall of Fame bylaws do not allow removal once a player is inducted. Simpson was enshrined in 1985 solely for football merit, and despite the legal firestorm that consumed his life afterward, the Hall has repeatedly reaffirmed that his place is permanent.

So Suggs believes that the committee today may be far more cautious. Especially with Antonio Brown’s ongoing legal issues, including his current attempted-murder charge, previous run-ins with law enforcement, and a long track record of alarming off-field behavior, voters would feel the weight of that precedent.

Moreover, Brown’s social-media antics only complicate his case further.

For a player who regularly posts explicit, erratic, and inflammatory content on X, giving him a live, global Hall of Fame stage on paper seems like a PR minefield. One unscripted moment could overshadow the entire ceremony. The league knows that. The voters know that. And Suggs clearly knows that.

Antonio Brown becomes Hall-eligible in 2027. But due to the aforementioned reasons, the question about his candidacy will all be whether the Hall wants to gamble on a player whose off-field headlines have overtaken his on-field legacy.