DOHA, Qatar -- The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is less than three years away and the tiny Gulf state has now staged its first-ever major football tournament, having hosted the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup this month. Liverpool's success on the field, having beaten Flamengo 1-0 in the final to become world champions for the first time, claimed the headlines from a sporting context, but hosting the competition was a crucial step for Qatar ahead of the far more difficult challenge of staging a 32-team World Cup in 2022.

So how well-prepared is Qatar, both on and off the pitch, in terms of being able to successfully stage the World Cup in November/December 2022? ESPN spent six days in the country during the FIFA Club World Cup to find out.

Is construction on track for 2022?

The Supreme Committee in charge of Qatar 2022 has set aside a budget of $6.5 billion for the construction or renovation of eight stadiums, plus training grounds for competing nations, and four have already been built. The 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium, which will stage both World Cup semifinals, and the 45,000-capacity Education City Stadium are both ready from a visual perspective, but neither has yet been able to host a test event due to ongoing infrastructure work outside each stadium. Education City was due to host the Club World Cup Final, but the event was moved to the refurbished Khalifa International Stadium two weeks before the tournament began given the host nation's failure to complete the necessary work in time.

The 40,00-seater Al Janoub Stadium is in a similar state of being close to full completion, but work is ongoing at the other four venues -- including the 80,000-capacity Lusail Iconic Stadium, which will stage the World Cup final in 2022. That ground will not be ready until the end of 2021.

Can you really get around all the venues in less than two hours?

Two hours would be ambitious, even when all the venues and transport links are up and running, but Qatar 2022 will certainly be a localised World Cup, with all eight stadiums within a 46-mile strip on the peninsula. Seven of the eight stadiums will be connected by the newly-built Metro system, which is a gleaming (albeit barely-populated) construction.

A series of five-lane super highways have also been built, but right now they are almost entirely free of traffic in a country that has a population of just 2.6 million people.

How will such a small country be able to accommodate fans of every team in 2022?

As reported by ESPN, the World Cup organising committee has spoken to the organisers of the Coachella and Glastonbury music festivals in an attempt to seek advice on how to provide large-scale camp areas for visiting fans.

Qatar, with an annual tourist trade of around 1.7 million visitors, hopes to have 70,000 hotel rooms by 2022, but with 3 million fans attending the World Cups in Brazil and Russia in 2014 and 2018, respectively, it won't be enough to cope with the influx of supporters in three years' time. Cruise ships will act as floating hotels, but tented villages in the desert holding between 5,000 and 15,000 fans are part of the plan for 2022.

There are also hopes that a trade blockade against Qatar, involving Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, will ease by the time of the World Cup, enabling fans to base themselves in Dubai or Abu Dhabi -- places in the region with a much more established tourism industry -- just a 30-minute flight away. But as of December 2019, there are no direct flights between Qatar and the UAE.

Will it be a fan-friendly, inclusive World Cup?

There are clear cultural differences that could lead to problems for supporters in Qatar. Homosexuality is illegal in the country, carrying a prison sentence of up to seven years; when asked, during a media round-table session in Doha, what would happen if a gay couple kissed in public, Hassan al Thawadi, the secretary general of the Supreme Committee for Qatar 2022, was unable to offer reassurances of understanding or acceptance.

"We are a conservative people and we ask visitors to appreciate our culture while at the same time accepting our hospitality," Al Thawadi said. "Open displays of affection are not part of our culture and we ask that people don't [openly display affection].

"We are not saying, 'Don't come and be yourself,' but it's always important to be open-minded and not focus on what's restrictive. You are focusing on the negative."

When asked whether Israelis would be allowed to visit Qatar for the World Cup -- the two countries have severed diplomatic relations -- Al Thawadi insisted there would be no restrictions. "Everyone is welcome," he said. "We do not mix sport and politics, but we would hope that Palestinians are able to make it too."

Alcohol, meanwhile, is available in western hotels -- it costs an average of $14 (£11) for a beer -- and it will be on sale at subsidised prices of around $6.50 (£5) in Fan Zones during the World Cup, as it was throughout the Club World Cup.

Any other cultural differences of note?

When rival Liverpool and Flamengo supporters began singing songs in a Doha sports bar during the Club World Cup, bar staff quickly urged both sets of fans to stop before calling security to press home the message that such behaviour was not acceptable. This correspondent witnessed the incident, which was wholly good-natured; when the incident was relayed to Al Thawadi during the media round-table, he insisted that Qatar will welcome football culture of all kinds, with the exception of "rowdy, troublesome fans," and that the reaction of staff in the bar was perhaps due to a concern over other customers being made to feel uncomfortable by the noise.

When Liverpool and Flamengo supporters sang songs on the Metro on the way to Saturday's Club World Cup Final, there was a look of bemusement from locals, though security officers on the trains did not intervene. With a developing tourism industry, Qatar remains unaccustomed to welcoming large numbers of visitors from across the globe. The local population and authorities may find the World Cup as challenging as those fans who arrive from elsewhere.

What about the players? Will it be too hot for football?

Moving the 2022 World Cup to November and December has ensured that there will be no concerns over the weather conditions for the players or supporters.

During the Club World Cup, which was staged at the same time as the World Cup semfinals and final will be in 2022, daytime temperatures hovered around 21-22 degrees Celsius (about 70 degrees Fahrenheit) before dropping considerably in the evening. It was also wet and windy, meaning fears of temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius are unlikely to be realised.

Despite the cooler temperatures in November and December, all of the World Cup stadiums are being built with air conditioning for the players and spectators. Pitch-side air vents will keep the temperature between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius for the players -- the vents will cover an area of 4 metres (13 feet) from the ground up -- while units at seat level will provide cool air for supporters, if required.

That doesn't sound great in terms of the carbon footprint...

No, but Qatar is building solar farms and using cold water, which will chill naturally overnight, to power the stadium air conditioning.

Sources in Qatar have told ESPN that cooling a stadium will require one-fifth of the air that is pumped around an airport terminal. The technology, designed Dr. Saud Abdulaziz Abdul Ghani, nicknamed "Dr Cool," is also being used in Qatar for agricultural purposes.

So... will it be a successful World Cup?

It's of course too early to say, but it will certainly be different from recent tournaments due to the size of Qatar and the lack of a deep-rooted football culture in the country. The national team has become a regional powerhouse, winning the Asian Cup in 2019, but the local league is played out in front of poor attendances. Falconry remains the national pastime.

The vast wealth of Qatar, due to the discovery of huge gas reserves during the 1990s, ensures that the tournament will be played out in world-class facilities, with a similarly top-grade transport network supporting it. But Doha is a city of skyscrapers and streets devoid of people. It is a conservative country with little experience of having visitors from the outside world, so while the stadiums and roads will be ready, the big question is whether the country and its population can bridge the cultural gap within the next three years.

The Carolina Panthers have interviewed former Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy for their vacant head-coaching job, league sources tell ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The interview took place after the Panthers' loss Sunday to the Indianapolis Colts, sources told Schefter.

The Panthers declined to publicly comment on their coaching search.

After firing longtime head coach Ron Rivera earlier this month, Panthers owner David Tepper indicated he was leaning toward offensive-minded candidates who are willing to use analytics.

McCarthy, 56, was fired by the Packers on Dec. 2, 2018, after nearly 13 seasons as Green Bay's head coach.

A former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, McCarthy was praised for his role in Aaron Rodgers' development in Green Bay and coached the Packers to a Super Bowl championship after the 2010 season.

But toward the end of his tenure, McCarthy was criticized for his conservative and sometimes predictable offense in Green Bay.

In an interview published earlier this month by NFL.com, McCarthy said he has spent the past year studying newer offensive philosophies and steeping himself in analytics.

"I've looked at every team in the league and their commitment to analytics, and football technology and video," McCarthy told NFL.com. "Because everybody has analytics, but it has to be part of your everyday operation to show up on Sundays."

McCarthy went 125-77-2 with the Packers, coaching them to eight consecutive postseason appearances from 2009 to 2016.

Perry Fewell has served as Carolina's interim head coach since Dec. 3, when the Panthers fired Rivera. Carolina is 5-10 entering Sunday's season finale against New Orleans.

NOT LONG AFTER the New England Patriots released Antonio Brown, the All-Pro receiver walked into the office of his South Florida home. He had invited his dad, Eddie, over to his house that fall day, and usually those invitations mean there is something serious to discuss.

The room is Brown's sanctuary. It overlooks the pool and has multiple televisions and a computer. But all that was background noise on that fall day.

Eddie says that Brown seemed to be realizing the truth about his precarious situation -- that he had created enough wreckage around him to ruin an ideal situation in Foxborough and that he was in danger of never playing again in the NFL as sexual misconduct allegations and other legal woes piled up around him.

His sudden unemployment devastated Brown. He had loved everything about New England: the culture, the professionalism, the chance to impact Tom Brady's final Super Bowl campaigns.

Eddie is used to Antonio reacting to tribulations with bullheadedness and a steadfast refusal to change -- the son inherited his stubbornness from his father, after all.

But this time, Brown seemed eager to regain what he had lost. He sat down with his father and delivered these words: Maybe I need to change what I'm doing. Brown informed his dad that he was undergoing therapy, which a source has confirmed to ESPN. Neither Eddie nor the source could confirm what kind of therapy, the frequency of his treatment or much else -- but Brown himself referenced his therapist on Twitter in October.

"He understands something may be going on, and he's going to see about it," Eddie, a former Arena Football League star, told ESPN in the first of a series of interviews, this one in October. "If there is or isn't, he'll find out. But he's not sitting around doing nothing. ... That come-to-Jesus moment came home."

There's a complex duality to Antonio Brown, as the world has come to see in the past two years in a relentless string of headlines. Teammates and family members say he can be compassionate, kind, understanding and beloved in a locker room. But he's also seen as erratic, paranoid and prone to mood swings, which this fall was manifested in real time on social media: in one day, a tirade declaring ''f--- the NFL'' before sharing that he was "determined to return"; a few weeks later, a reference to Patriots owner Robert Kraft's ongoing court case and then a public apology to Kraft and the organization.

But his social media presence is only a small aspect of the troubles he has brought on himself. Brown, 31, faces allegations of sexual assault and rape from his former personal trainer Britney Taylor, whose civil lawsuit sparked the NFL investigation that is currently his biggest hurdle to clear before he can return.

Now his family and friends say he's working on himself, but it's hard to tell whether Brown is making real, concerted changes to turn his life around. Therapy or not, Brown has continued to pile up tweets that don't help his case for employment. In his rare public comments, all on social media, Brown has bounced from being apologetic to antagonistic, sometimes in the same day.

How did the best receiver of the past decade end up out of football, in danger of forfeiting $40 million in guaranteed money and perhaps having tainted his legacy forever? Talks with more than 20 people -- including Brown's family, coaches, friends, teammates and former associates -- tell the story of how Brown got here, what might have sparked the spiral and where he goes next. Repeated efforts to reach Brown through his agent and family members were unsuccessful.

The general consensus? That Antonio Brown's future in the NFL has never been less clear.

BROWN GREW UP in Miami Gardens, Florida, and later spent time in Liberty City, a notoriously crime-ridden section of Miami. His upbringing was difficult. Eddie was off playing football when his kids were young, and Brown's conflicts with his stepdad, Larry Moss, were frequent. Brown and his brothers, Desmond and Eddie, would often try to intervene in arguments between their mom, Adrianne Moss, and Larry -- arguments Larry attributes to trying to parent Antonio.

Desmond says the confrontations created incredible stress in the household. But he recalls fondly some of the quiet moments when that stress pushed the boys closer together.

They'd go into their bedroom, decorated with posters of Deion Sanders and Emmitt Smith, crawl into their twin beds and talk about everything. Desmond, two years younger, would ask his big brother about girls and sports and school, and Antonio was quick to advise.

When they shut their eyes, Desmond knew he probably would wake up with Antonio sleeping in his bed, side by side, toes to head.

"What happened, bro?" Desmond would ask on those mornings.

"I saw ghosts," Antonio commonly replied.

"He had bad dreams pretty often," Desmond says now. "It's like he sensed stuff."

By high school, his little brother's bed wasn't always enough to feel safe. Brown left the home multiple times during his high school years, which Desmond attributes to his feeling slighted by his stepfather and mother. He temporarily lived with an uncle, and he bounced around between the homes of various friends from the football team late in his Miami Norland High School career.

"On the field, he was awesome," his high school coach Nigel Dunn says. "You didn't have to worry about him missing anything, always around football, just a hardworking kid."

But once he left the practice field, it was rarely that simple -- he had "almost like a double personality," as Dunn describes it.

"My biggest thing was the fear [for] him outside of football," Dunn says. "When he was not on the field, he could go either way. ... Off the field, he could be a distraction."

Larry Moss, Brown's stepfather, says Brown started staying out late and sneaking off with cars around the age of 14, with a "no respect" attitude that contributed to his leaving the Miami Gardens home. As Larry remembers it, he and Brown's mother even lived in separate homes at times because of friction between him and Brown.

By his senior year, Brown's grades had slipped "tremendously," Dunn says, and that, combined with the fact that he was only 5-foot-10, kept schools away. "Being that size, even though he had great film, no one wanted to take a chance."

But Brown kept pushing -- past a one-year experiment at a preparatory school, a failed chance to play for Florida International due to what a coach called an on-campus incident, and all the way to Central Michigan, where he became an NFL prospect after arriving his freshman year as a walk-on. With nothing guaranteed, in a place far from home, Brown was in full survival mode early in his career, which his former coaches say is exactly what Brown responds to best.

"I'd gotten a fairly clear idea that he had a one-way bus ticket and about three weeks to earn a scholarship or he was going to be s--- out of luck," says Mark Elder, Brown's punt return coach at CMU. "This was, 'Hey, I've got to get a scholarship or I'm going to be back on the streets in Miami.'"

Brown wowed from the beginning, taking a hitch 80 yards or running post-practice sprints in the snow. Teammates once asked head coach Butch Jones if he had seen Brown's apartment, where he had duct-taped a makeshift speed ladder on his stairs for before-bed footwork sessions.

But there was another side to Brown's intensity. Defensive line coach Paul Volero recalls Brown tearing up CMU assistant Zach Azzanni's office one day but doesn't remember exactly what set Brown off. "[He had] issues with emotions -- high one day and very low the other," says Volero, who recruited Brown. "A day where he had no confidence, didn't feel good about himself, to other days where he was as happy-go-lucky as anyone could be.

"We had to recognize who that was coming through that door that morning and deal with him accordingly."

Volero was born and raised in Miami and spent a decade coaching there. He says that background was crucial in dealing with Brown, who saw the Miami connection "from a point of endearment and respect," someone who understands the struggle of low-income teens from South Florida. Volero sent late-night texts, made impromptu visits to the apartment -- whatever it took to make sure Brown felt loved and appreciated.

"Give him structure, he'll do great," Volero says. "But if he feels confronted, he'll react. ... He hasn't mastered that part of his life."

MIKE TOMLIN AND the Pittsburgh Steelers took a flier on the speedy CMU prospect in the sixth round of the 2010 draft, and Brown entered the league with the same edge he had as the scrappy walk-on trying to impress Central Michigan coaches. He was hell-bent on being better than all 22 receivers taken ahead of him, even choosing No. 84 for a specific reason. "Eight times four is 32," he said in an interview with NFL Network in 2015. "Thirty-two teams looked past me, even the Steelers. So every time I go out there, it's a little added motivation."

In his first three years in the league, as Brown broke out as a rising NFL superstar, the Steelers slowly but surely learned how to deal with the mercurial talent. As a rookie, he missed game time for being late to practices. Eventually, though, Tomlin made concessions. The Steelers coach knew the best way -- perhaps the only way -- to handle Brown, and it was straight from Volero's playbook: limit confrontations, get him to the field, let him be dominant.

In 2013, Brown's fourth year in the league, he recorded his first 100-catch season with 110. He would go on to become the first NFL receiver with at least 100 receptions in six straight years. During that time, most of the team's leaders could accept that the rules got bent for Brown, largely because of their relationships with the wide receiver. "AB is a brother to me," says center Maurkice Pouncey, one of a half-dozen former teammates to express such sentiments.

But eventually, his off-field antics started to wear thin. His constant tardiness kept the Steelers waiting in team meetings or on the tarmac on the way to road games. According to two former teammates, Tomlin eventually went so far as to address the special rules for Brown during a team meeting, saying the Steelers would tolerate his behavior because of how hard he worked. If or when the production stopped, Tomlin said, they'd rethink the star treatment.

Even with the relaxed barricades around him, Brown often welcomed conflict, which many teammates noticed in his love-hate relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. If Brown had a problem, he wouldn't hold back in voicing his frustration, including once when Roethlisberger tried to enforce his no-music policy in the locker room. "F--- you, cracker," Brown responded, according to one Steeler. The two usually hashed things out, but Brown's in-your-face, confrontational style became exhausting to some players who just wanted to come to work without issue.

"With him, it's either hot or cold," says Josh Harris, a former Steelers teammate and friend of Brown's. "If he's in a good mood, he's in a great one, having a good time. Then you'll see him another day, you'll see his face and you don't really want to say a lot because you know something has happened."

For most of Brown's career, teammates and friends knew that at any point he could "flip a switch," says one ex-teammate -- in fact, some close to Brown believe that's what made him the player that he is.

"If he wasn't as crazy and sporadic as he really is, I'm not sure he'd be the same player," says one source. "That kind of made him who he was, wanting to prove everybody wrong. That brought the best and worst out of him."

But many point specifically to his massive contract extension in February 2017 -- four years, $68 million -- as a turning point. That's when, some friends and ex-teammates say, the superstar behavior became more frequent, the distractions unavoidable, the ability to hold time commitments more flimsy.

"All that fame and money can go to your head, I guess," says Desmond, who now has minimal contact with the brother who once helped pay for his tuition at the University of Pittsburgh and bought him his first Jeep Wrangler. "I don't know."

Others point to a perceived power struggle that led to the breakup of the Killer B's (Brown, Big Ben and Le'Veon Bell). One team source believes Brown's decision to skip multiple workdays during the final week of the 2018 season was to facilitate a trade or because he was genuinely unhappy with Tomlin prioritizing the quarterback above the game's best receiver. It didn't help that JuJu Smith-Schuster won team MVP -- an award voted on by players during the last week of the season -- over Brown.

"[Tomlin] cares enough about the guy to not want to see him fall down the slippery slope," says one source familiar with the Tomlin-Brown dynamic. "Sometimes he didn't know where the hell he was. But they had a lot of good years together."

Many ex-teammates haven't spoken to Brown in a while, and they are left to process the barrage of bizarre tweets and puzzling headlines from recent months.

Steelers cornerback Joe Haden knows Brown well after spending seven seasons covering him as a Cleveland Brown and two as a teammate in Pittsburgh. The two shared a corner of the Steelers' locker room, so Haden speaks with authority when he calls Brown a "good dude" who's "just a little different." (Asked how he's different, Haden responds, "I don't want to go there.")

"I just hope he's all right, man. Because this is a lot going on at one time," Haden says. "I know one thing -- he loves football and he loves to perform and play.

"I hope he can ... get his stuff together. Because I just worry about him sometimes."

BY THE END of 2018, Brown's issues in Pittsburgh had moved off the field. His refusal to pay for services had become legendary, with whispers of mounting bills with car dealerships, contractors, lawn services and more. Some of those stories share a similar theme: Brown entices prospective members of Team AB with big promises but grows hesitant to pay for weeks or months of work, while sometimes expecting contractors to cover their own travel.

As one source who knows him well says, Brown "thinks he is a business mogul" -- but really just expects everyone to serve him, with or without a paycheck. Another source estimates that Brown has employed at least 10 photographers, four chefs and 20 personal trainers over the years.

And by 2019, those whispers began to be reflected in court filings. Between multiple lawsuits and other miscellaneous bills he had to resolve -- such as with school district taxes and Bank of America -- the recent tally of what he could owe reached nearly $130,000.

"He thinks he's owed everything and he owes nothing," says Pittsburgh-based attorney Jack Goodrich, who is representing an orthopedic doctor and a personal assistant in lawsuits against Brown over unpaid money.

Robert Leo, Brown's personal assistant for years, charged more than $16,000 on a personal credit card to cover flights, airport parking and food for Brown, his suit states. Brown did pay Leo's work wages on time. Dr. Victor Prisk performed orthopedic work for Brown, but when he asked for payments, Goodrich says, Brown offered to buy him medical equipment or help him open a gym instead.

"He seems to have a pattern that he lures you in, he's friendly with people -- 'I'll be your buddy; hey, I'm AB, come with me and you'll be part of us,'" Goodrich says. "But when it's time to pay, he's got the gator arms."

Nicholas "Chef Niko" Hasapoglou spent nearly every day with Brown for a year between 2015 and 2016. As a personal assistant and chef, Hasapoglou got his apartment furnished by Brown and said he was paid a "fair" wage before being fired over a disagreement.

But Hasapoglou always sensed a paranoia that consumed Brown. "AB had a lot of people around him, and they all wanted something from him," he says. "AB was always aware of that. He was wary of a lot of the relationships around him."

By the time Brown left Pittsburgh in a March trade with the Oakland Raiders, his legal troubles had ballooned past financial disputes. Along with the additional sexual misconduct allegations and legal proceedings that Sports Illustrated documented this summer, background checks and police filings tracked by ESPN show a litany of other issues. Shameika Brailsford, who has a child with Brown, claimed in a 2017 civil suit that Brown cut child support payments and evicted her from a Pennsylvania property Brown owned. (Brown also went through the courts for child custody mediation with Chelsie Kyriss, the mother of three of his children, in 2016.)

Filings also show 20 trips to Brown's house by Northern (Pennsylvania) Regional Police between 2014 and '18. Several incidents were minor in nature, such as fire alarms going off, but others involved a series of random events, such as Brown trying to locate two of his cars. Brown also alleged theft of $50,000, jewelry, passports and a handgun by a former associate. There was a forgery case on a Bank of America account owned by Brown, and a contractor called police in an attempt to retrieve payment for installing Brown's pool fence.

Brown's father, like Hasapoglou, says he believes mounting pressures off the field have inundated his son.

"If everybody is coming at you with so many directions, requiring so much of you, there comes a point where you can't take a deep breath and you lash out," Eddie says. "You're overwhelmed and don't know how to respond. We've been talking about that since he's been home.

"It really hit a head with the situation in Pittsburgh. ... It all became overwhelming. Instead of reaching out for counseling or understanding of how to deal with it, he decided to handle [it] himself, and it didn't come out the right way."

WITH DEBTS AND legal issues piling up, Brown's three-year, $54 million deal with the Raiders ($30 million of it guaranteed) could have eased at least the financial hole in which he found himself. But when Brown signed that deal in March, some Steelers privately debated how long Brown would last without the generous concessions Tomlin made for the receiver.

The consensus was that Brown wouldn't make it to Week 1 -- and that turned out to be right.

There were problems almost from the very beginning. Brown opened training camp on the non-football injury list after freezing his feet in a cryotherapy machine, failed to show up because he wasn't allowed to wear his Schutt Air Advantage helmet and had an open confrontation with GM Mike Mayock on the practice field.

By early September, after another round of controversies, Brown demanded his release as the team voided his guaranteed money for conduct detrimental to the team.

All this less than five months after he'd purchased a $3.2 million home in Alamo, California, outside Oakland, and had his items shipped cross-country.

"It's like he laid down roots for a situation he sabotaged," a source with knowledge of the situation says.

The very same day of his release, Brown agreed to sign with the Patriots and was on "cloud 50" to be headed to Foxborough, Eddie recalls. Brown brimmed with excitement any time he discussed the future there.

Three days later, Taylor filed the lawsuit alleging Brown had raped her and exposed himself to her. A week after that, a second woman came forward with misconduct allegations. The Patriots kept him on the roster in the days after the accusations. A few league executives believe the Patriots were simply waiting for the NFL to decide his status after the investigation.

But after SI published Brown's interrogative group text to the second accuser -- a thread in which he shared a photo of her kids and asked friends to "look into" her -- the Patriots cut bait. Team owner Robert Kraft is believed to be the one who made the call, according to a report from NBCSN Boston.

"I certainly don't want to speak for the team, but he wasn't released [from New England] because of his interaction with the team on a day-to-day basis," says Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who called Brown a "model citizen" in the New England locker room. When asked about Brown's erratic behavior in recent months, Brown's agent pointed straight to a civil case that he calls "incredibly stressful" for his client.

"For the overwhelming majority of his career, Antonio was a successful member of the Steelers organization and the NFL family," Rosenhaus says. "This year there were some external things that went on in his life that contributed to great pressure and stress. That certainly had an impact with his NFL career."

Brown couldn't discuss the case with the Raiders because of an ongoing civil suit, Rosenhaus says. But in fact, he came close to avoiding all the public scrutiny: Attorneys for Brown and Taylor spent much of the summer negotiating a settlement. ESPN's Jeff Darlington reported that the amount was $2 million, and it almost happened. "It was at the 1-yard line," a source says.

But Brown wouldn't sign off on the deal.

WHEN ASKED AT the NFL fall meetings in mid-October for an update on the Brown investigation, commissioner Roger Goodell stated the obvious.

"There's a lot of material to go through," Goodell said.

Now the NFL is sifting through details of the relationship between Brown and Taylor. There's history there -- almost a decade's worth, since the two met at a Central Michigan Bible study -- and the NFL is attempting to wade through it in a lengthy investigation that included an hourslong interview with Taylor in September and one with Brown in November.

Taylor, who is suing Brown in Broward County (Florida) for sexual assault, says he exposed himself to her and raped her at his South Florida home. Brown's countersuit claims Taylor has embarked on a "vicious campaign of deceit and lies." In that response, Brown claims his sexual relationship with Taylor was always consensual and that Brown is unable to discuss key details of the case with the NFL because of a confidentiality agreement.

Now Brown is playing the waiting game -- and his patience is waning, frequently and publicly: verbal spats with players, threatening reporters, throwing shade at Kraft (two days after posting pictures of Brady and Bill Belichick, which might signal who Brown thought responsible for his release) and apologizing later. Twice he's said he'd never play in the NFL again, only to backtrack hours or days later.

Another social media storm in mid-December accused the NFL of holding players "out against there [sic] will, no criminal charges pending nothing." His comments posited that there was a racial component to the NFL's actions and questioned the NFL Players Association's involvement in his case.

Whatever truths, falsities or accusations lie within Brown's comments, his frustrations come through loud and clear: The NFL has full control over the timeline. One source said Brown felt the league slow-played the investigation by waiting nearly two months to schedule his interview. But a separate source says the NFL prefers to conduct thorough probes before talking to the player, and Brown had to submit paperwork and evidence pertaining to the case, which took time.

At least three teams have expressed legitimate interest in Brown once there's clarity regarding the investigation, Rosenhaus says. But since the NFL can place him on the commissioner's exempt list the moment he signs somewhere, prospective teams are waiting this out just like he is.

Meanwhile, Brown has spent his lost season working on his own life. In November, Eddie described Brown's routine: He takes his kids to school in the morning, returns home for a bit, then hits the Police Athletic League fields to train with Glenn Holt, a former NFL receiver and assistant coach at nearby St. Thomas Aquinas High School. Training is his refuge, many close to him like to say. The grass, the stretching, the routes on air -- all of it is a convenient escape. New hobbies are useless. Football is it, so much so that Brown has attended many PAL games on Saturdays to glad-hand and support the local youth players.

"He's starting to put some things together, see it from a different perspective that I think is very positive," Eddie says. "All he wants is another chance to write his story and play the game he loves."

But that perspective could also be preparing him for a life without football earlier than anyone expected. There are few signs that the NFL's investigation will be wrapping up quickly, and a suspension that lasts well into 2020 seems very possible. And that's not even accounting for the half-dozen legal consequences from the ongoing suits by Taylor and others.

By then, Brown will be a 32-year-old receiver with 12 months on the bench. Less than 10 months after he became the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL, some around the league believe Brown might not play an NFL down again.

ESPN reporter Tom VanHaaren contributed to this story.

Enes Kanter will be active and in uniform for the Boston Celtics for their Christmas Day matchup with the Raptors in Toronto.

Kanter wrote an editorial in Toronto's Globe and Mail newspaper in which he announced he would be able to play in the game after fears for his safety had been resolved.

"I want to thank Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government, U.S. and Canadian law enforcement, U.S. Senator Ed Markey, the Celtics, the NBA and my managers for working diligently to make my Christmas game against the Raptors possible and ensuring my safety there," Kanter wrote. "And, on Christmas night, I will play in my first game as a Celtic outside the U.S. when I take the court against the Raptors."

Kanter, who has been an outspoken critic of the Turkish government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, didn't play in Toronto last season when a member of the Portland Trail Blazers over fears of reprisal from the Turkish government if he left the United States. There had been discussions of safeguards being put in place if the Trail Blazers had faced the Raptors in the NBA Finals, but Portland was swept out of the playoffs in the Western Conference Finals by the Golden State Warriors to prevent that from becoming a potential issue.

The 6-foot-10 center, who is averaging 7.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in 20 games for the Celtics, has been part of an ongoing rotation at center for the Celtics this season -- even more so after injuries to Robert Williams and Vincent Poirier have left the Celtics short at the position. If Kanter had been unable to play Wednesday, Boston would have had only starter Daniel Theis and rookies Grant Williams and Tacko Fall available.

Boston is hoping for more good news Tuesday, when the Celtics hold a practice before flying to Toronto for Wednesday's game. The expectation is that Gordon Hayward will go through practice and be listed as probable for the showdown with the Raptors, while Marcus Smart could also practice after sitting out for the past six games because of an infection that spread to both of his eyes.

Toronto, which is coming off a 30-point second-half comeback Sunday against the Dallas Mavericks, plays Monday night in Indiana against the Pacers and is dealing with its own set of injury issues, as Pascal Siakam (groin), Norman Powell (shoulder) and Marc Gasol (knee) have all been ruled out indefinitely.

Exeter Chiefs and England centre Henry Slade is set for a spell on the sidelines with ankle injuries that are still being assessed by club staff.

The 26-year-old was forced off during Saturday's win at Leicester after taking knocks to both of his ankles.

"Sladey's going to be out for a little while," Exeter director of rugby Rob Baxter told the club website.

"It is, however, not something he will be able to get over in a week or two - it's more significant than that."

Slade, who featured five times for England at this year's Rugby World Cup in Japan as Eddie Jones' side finished runners-up, was replaced in the first half of Exeter's 31-22 victory at Welford Road, which took the Chiefs top of the Premiership.

"He tried hobbling along with one [injury], until he picked up the second," Baxter added.

"The second injury is more of a concern as it's around an old injury, which he had previously had plated."

MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Officials from Tucker-Boat Motorsports have confirmed a six-car lineup for the 34th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, Jan. 13-18 inside the River Spirit Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla.

The Tucker-Boat six-pack is headlined by three-time defending event winner Christopher Bell, who will pilot the iRacing.com/Pristine Auction Spike-Speedway Toyota in the crown jewel event.

Bell will be joined by Chris Windom, Andrew Layser, Aaron Reutzel, Gio Scelzi and Dillon Welch on the all-star roster for the Mooresville, N.C.-based organization.

It’s the largest Chili Bowl lineup in team history, and one that team co-owner Chad Boat is eager to get onto the race track in Tulsa next month, despite the fact he won’t be behind the wheel himself.

“It’s definitely a little different feeling for me going into January, but we’re definitely excited about all the partners we have coming on board, with iRacing and NOS joining the lineup we’ve built here at Tucker-Boat Motorsports,” Boat told Sprint Car & Midget by phone on Monday. “With Andrew and Chris running full time, and then adding a couple very experienced guys to help round out the team in Aaron and Christopher, of course, we feel like we’re in a very good place going into this Chili Bowl.

“We can’t forget about Dillon, either. He ran a lot more this year than he’s been able to in quite some time, and I think that showed and we have a lot of good momentum with him headed into Chili Bowl also,” Boat continued. “All in all, it’s a very strong six cars we’re bringing and Corey (Tucker, co-owner) and I feel confident that we’ll have several of them contending up front throughout the week.”

Bell has won the last three Chili Bowl Saturday A-mains with Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports and will be seeking his record-tying fourth in a row with Boat, his longtime friend and ally.

Should he be able to accomplish the feat, Bell will become the first driver to win four Chili Bowls in a row with two different teams, and the second to accomplish the quartet after Kevin Swindell’s initial run of success from 2010-2013.

Windom is a past champion of both the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint Car Series () and the USAC Silver Crown Champ Car Series, while Layser took rookie-of-the-year honors with the NOS Energy Drink USAC National Midget Series this past year. Both of them move to TBM from Clauson-Marshall Racing.

Aaron Reutzel and Gio Scelzi have both found staunch success within the winged sprint car world, with Reutzel earning the last two All Star Circuit of Champions point titles and Scelzi becoming the youngest winner in World of Outlaws, Williams Grove Speedway and Knoxville Raceway history since 2018.

Scelzi picked up his first national midget victory during the opening night of the Elk Grove Ford Hangtown 100 in mid-November, during just his sixth USAC National Midget Series start.

Last but not least, Welch set national midget track records at both Kokomo (Ind.) and Placerville (Calif.) Speedway in 2019, spending a handful of races behind the wheel with TBM when not working his regular television and radio broadcasting duties with the Motor Racing Network and NBC Sports.

Altogether, it’s a lineup that Boat views as “the best from top to bottom” that Tucker-Boat has prepared for the Chili Bowl since the team debuted in 2016.

“Within these six that we’re bringing, I think you see a lot of experience and a lot of guys that can get it done,” Boat noted. “Four of the five (veterans) have started in the Saturday A-main, and then Andrew … that was his first Chili Bowl last year, so him coming back with a little bit more experience will no doubt help him as well. Aaron hasn’t been in the big show, but he’s run some extra races to help get ready for Chili Bowl, and I think you’ll see him really excel.

“We’re definitely excited, and now we just have to put all the pieces together and make it happen.”

Tucker-Boat’s best Saturday A-main finish as a team to date was 10th by Boat himself in 2018.

Toyota Racing Development has won five consecutive Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals features. Thanks to Mobil 1, SPEED SPORT is providing exclusive coverage of the multi-car organization, led by three-time winner and current champ Christopher Bell and two-time Chili Bowl winner Rico Abreu, and other Toyota-equipped organizations and drivers as they prepare for and compete in the Chili Bowl. The Mobil 1 Road To The Driller program is in addition to SPEED SPORT and Sprint Car & Midget’s traditional “Live from the Chili Bowl presented by MyRacePass” coverage that surrounds the event.

The Chili Bowl will be shown live online on www.racinboys.com. The online PPV experience will run from Monday through Saturday’s qualifiers. At the time of opening ceremonies (6 p.m. local time) on Saturday, Racinboys PPV coverage will cease as the final features will be shown live on MAVTV (more information here).

OHSWEKEN, Ontario – One of Ohsweken Speedway’s brightest stars, Mack DeMan, has signed a deal to race the No. 56 Jim Bray Motorsports entry when the NASCAR Pinty’s Series makes its dirt debut during the Northern Summer Nationals on Aug. 18.

DeMan, who recently completed his second full season in Ohsweken’s Kool Kidz-Corr/Pak 360 Sprint Car division with a second-place finish in the championship standings, will see his entry carry support from Nathan Ackland Insurance, Sty’s Tree Service, Braemar Building Systems, Nortex Roofing Ltd., Fastrack Performance, Ripshot and Creative Edge Signs and Graphics.

“I need to thank all of my weekly Ohsweken sponsors and a couple of new ones who also stepped up to give me this opportunity,” DeMan said. “I’m very excited to be making my first start with the NASCAR Pinty’s Series. I’m proud to represent the Ohsweken Speedway weekly racers and show what we can do.”

DeMan will be a busy driver during both nights of the Northern Summer Nationals on Aug. 17-18 as he will compete in his No. 17 Nathan Ackland Racing 360 sprint car as well as the Jim Bray Motorsports-prepared No. 56.

“Switching cars throughout the night will be tough, but I’m looking forward to it,” DeMan said. “It looks like there will be a couple of other guys, like Stewart Friesen, doing the same, so there’s no excuses. I’m really looking forward to having a Sprint Car and a NASCAR Pinty’s Series car side-by-side in the pits. It’s going to be a very cool night full of new experiences for both the drivers and the fans.”

DeMan’s NASCAR Pinty’s Series effort will be led by long-time Jim Bray Motorsports crew chief Mike Knott. DeMan will also have help from some Ohsweken Speedway Thunder Stock regulars to help on race night.

Players at Spanish powerhouses Barcelona and Real Madrid and Italy champion Juventus are on the best-paid teams in world sports, according to a survey published on Monday.

The 10th edition of the Global Sports Salaries study by sportingintelligence.com placed Barcelona top of the list with an average basic salary of a first-team player of $12.8 million. That figure is down on last year when Barcelona were also first with an average of $13.7m, swelled by the basic pay check of Lionel Messi, which exceeds $65m.

Real Madrid retain second place with an average of $11.6m and Juventus, ninth on the list last year, are up to third with $10.54m. The other football clubs in the top 20 are PSG at No. 12 and Manchester City at No. 13.

The figures used in the survey represent basic annual pay and do not include signing bonuses, performance bonuses and other extras.

Teams from the NBA fill the remaining seven spots in the top 10 and take 15 of the top 20 places.

In 2017, the top three teams in the survey were the Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Golden State Warriors, while in 2018 three NBA teams broke the average pay ceiling of $10m per player. This year, the Portland Trail Blazers are in fourth place at just over $10.4m, Golden State fifth at $10.28m and Oklahoma City has fallen to sixth at $9.83m.

Among teams ranked 21 to 30 this year, nine are from the NBA, joined by Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich at No. 22.

Juventus were ranked No. 32 in 2017 but leapt to 10th place last year with the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo and other high-priced players.

The biggest risers in the latest survey were the NFL's Buffalo Bills, who climbed 60 places from No. 152 to No. 92, and the Atlanta Falcons, up 59 spots from No. 123 to No. 64.

Four of the five biggest falls were recorded by Major League Baseball teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, who are down 123 places to No. 172. The New York Yankees were the top-ranked team in the inaugural survey in 2012.

METAIRIE, La. -- Michael Thomas has earned his place into the NFL record books and into the coveted "Madden 99 Club."

EA Sports announced Monday that the New Orleans Saints receiver has been upgraded to the maximum rating of 99 in its Madden 20 video game after he broke Marvin Harrison's NFL record of 143 catches in a season.

Thomas now has 145 catches -- with one game to play Sunday at Carolina.

✔️ Single Season Reception Record
✔️ 1,600+ Yards
✔️ #99Club

Congrats @Cantguardmike ? pic.twitter.com/0SWWbMkf2P

— Madden NFL 20 (@EAMaddenNFL) December 23, 2019

Madden also honored Saints quarterback Drew Brees last week by making him a temporary member of the 99 Club after he broke Peyton Manning's NFL record for career touchdown passes.

Madden ratings are fluid, so the 99 Club members are subject to change. As of Week 16, the only other players listed with 99 ratings on the Madden site were Aaron Donald, DeAndre Hopkins, Patrick Mahomes and Christian McCaffrey.

Thomas was also helping the Saints give back to the community on the day after he set the record, handing out presents at Ochsner Hospital for Children.

A day after breaking the @NFL receptions record, @Cantguardmike is back in the community, handing out Christmas presents and visiting with patients at @OchsnerHealth Hospital for Children! pic.twitter.com/1bkNIxDmwc

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 23, 2019

Thomas downplayed the significance of individual achievements Sunday after he broke Harrison's record during a 38-28 victory over the Tennessee Titans, saying he is more focused on winning a championship.

"To be honest, it doesn't really mean nothing," Thomas said. "I don't take it for granted. But the fact that we still have more goals as a team -- as far as not the individual stuff that comes along with it -- I would be selfish to be like, 'Oh, I just caught all these passes and did all this.' Ultimately I was catching the passes to win the game, to help my team be in the position we're in now.

"So I just want to keep catching passes and end up where we're gonna be. ... That's ultimately what I'm here to do, and I feel like if I continue to do that I'll get more passes and I'll break more records."

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Pro Bowl quarterback Lamar Jackson is among the handful of Baltimore Ravens starters, including injured running back Mark Ingram, who will not play in Sunday's season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers, coach John Harbaugh announced Monday.

Ingram, who left Sunday's game in Cleveland early in the fourth quarter, has a mild to moderate calf strain. Harbaugh called it "good news" for Ingram, saying he expects the Pro Bowl running back to be ready when Baltimore plays host to the AFC divisional round playoff game in almost three weeks (Jan. 11 or 12).

The Ravens (13-2) clinched the AFC's No. 1 seed for the first time in team history and secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with Sunday's 31-15 victory over the Cleveland Browns, meaning they have nothing to gain in the regular-season finale against the rival Steelers (8-7).

"It was pretty straight forward," Harbaugh said. "It's not a hard decision really, if you sit back and think about it. It's a solid decision."

Robert Griffin III will start at quarterback for Baltimore against Pittsburgh, which can clinch a playoff spot with a win on Sunday but also needs the Tennessee Titans to lose to the Houston Texans. The Steelers also can make it with a loss but would need help from several teams in those scenarios.

In addition to Jackson and Ingram, guard Marshal Yanda, safety Earl Thomas and defensive tackle Brandon Williams won't play against Pittsburgh. Two other starters could also be inactive, and the top candidates are cornerbacks Jimmy Smith and Marcus Peters, offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley or tight end Mark Andrews.

In making the decision, Harbaugh said he consulted with Yanda on the flight back from Cleveland and spoke with his coaching staff. The Ravens have won 11 straight games, and some might argue that sitting some players two weeks (the season finale in addition to the first-round bye) will derail their momentum.

It basically comes down to whether you want to risk rust or injury.

"There's a strong case to be made either way. I really recognize the other side of it," Harbaugh said. "I think like it's a fair and valid case and it's real. You just got to balance it out between two good choices really."

This officially ends the regular season for Jackson, the NFL Most Valuable Player front-runner who became the first player in league history to throw for over 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards. He currently leads the NFL with 36 touchdown passes and ranks No. 6 in rushing with 1,206 yards.

Sitting a starting quarterback in the final regular-season game is unusual. In the past five seasons, four teams have clinched the No. 1 seed before Week 17 and only one (the New Orleans Saints with Drew Brees) didn't play their starting quarterback. The others used their starting quarterback for less than a half.

After the win in Cleveland, Jackson expressed a desire to play, although he said it was Harbaugh's decision. Harbaugh hasn't spoken to Jackson about not playing but said, "I know he'll be completely on board."

The Ravens were reminded about the injury risk Sunday, when Ingram limped off the field at the start of the fourth quarter. He left the stadium with a protective boot, and he underwent an MRI on Monday.

Ingram's 15 touchdown this season are tied with Ray Rice (2011) for most in a season by a Ravens running back.

"We'd be looking for him to be ready in two weeks," Harbaugh said. "We'll see how that goes going forward."

Even though the Ravens could be sitting as many as six Pro Bowl players, Harbaugh said the priority is to win Sunday's game. Since it was announced that Jackson wouldn't be starting, Baltimore went from being a 1-point favorite to a 1-point underdog, according to Caesars.

"It's a rivalry game. It's the Steelers," Harbaugh said. "They have everything to play for. We recognize that, and we'll be looking to put our absolute best foot forward and play our best football game with the guys that we'll be playing with."