Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown has lost his second grievance hearing with the NFL about wearing his old helmet, but he is moving forward with a deal for an approved helmet in the near future, sources confirmed to ESPN on Sunday.
Brown lost an earlier grievance against the NFL that sought an exception to wear his Schutt Air Advantage, a helmet he has worn throughout his career. Brown then filed a second grievance Monday night, asking for a one-year grace period before needing to change helmets.
The second hearing, which took place Friday, was heard by the same independent arbitrator that presided over the first hearing. The NFLPA submitted an affidavit in support of the league’s position to not allow Brown to wear the older helmet, sources told ESPN.
ProFootballTalk first reported that Brown had lost the second hearing.
Helmet testing and regulations are administered jointly by the league and the NFLPA.
Brown left the team twice in training camp in Napa, California — the first time for two weeks to ostensibly seek treatment for his frostbitten feet; the second time on Sunday, skipping out on practice in anger over the league denying his helmet.
Brown, wearing a certified helmet, participated in practice Tuesday.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Dan Graziano and Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.