In the high-stakes world of professional sports, few moves have been as divisive as Kevin Durant’s 2016 departure from the Oklahoma City Thunder to join the Golden State Warriors. While fans called it a betrayal, NFL legend Terrell Owens saw it as a masterclass in professional autonomy.

Here is the full story of how T.O. and other gridiron greats defended the era of player empowerment.

Part I: The “Unrestricted” Truth

When Durant hit free agency in 2016, he had spent nine years with the Thunder organization. To Terrell Owens, that decade of service was the only “loyalty” required. Owens argues that once a contract is fulfilled, an athlete is a private citizen with the right to choose their workplace. “He did nothing wrong,” Owens stated firmly.

“If a guy is on a roster, speaking football from a football perspective for a second, I was in a situation like that. Let’s say a guy had five years left on his deal, he gets that third year in the organization, imagine if they cut him. Nobody says anything in the organization. KD, LeBron; they played out the entirety of their contract, so they become unrestricted free agents. What’s wrong with going out there and shopping the market?”

The Double Standard of “Business”

Owens’ defense strikes at the heart of the sports industry’s hypocrisy. Fans often demand lifelong loyalty from players, yet celebrate “shrewd” front offices that cut aging veterans to save cap space. By using his “football perspective,” Owens highlights that teams treat players as assets to be managed; therefore, players must treat their careers as businesses to be optimized.

Part II: The Recruitment of a King

Owens wasn’t the only NFL icon involved in this saga. Tom Brady actually joined the Boston Celtics’ pitch meeting in the Hamptons to help recruit Durant. While the Celtics didn’t land him, Brady’s advice to Durant was clear: prioritize your own success.

Brady later echoed Owens’ sentiment, publicly supporting Durant’s moves by stating that the modern athlete should always look for the “best organization and best chance to win.” For the NFL’s greatest winner, “loyalty” to a franchise never outweighed the pursuit of excellence.

Part III: The League’s Response

While NFL stars like Owens, Brady, and Richard Sherman—who notably labeled Durant a “Warrior” for his physical sacrifices on the court—viewed his move as a victory for player labor rights, the NBA’s leadership was far less enthusiastic about this shift in power. Commissioner Adam Silver famously characterized Durant’s decision to join a 73-win team as “not ideal” for the league’s competitive balance, reflecting a broader anxiety within the league office. This sentiment was shared by rival owners, who reportedly expressed such deep anger that Warriors owner Joe Lacob felt compelled to simply tell his peers, “Sorry, we got him.” This friction eventually birthed a new reality for the league: the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement. This landmark deal introduced the “Second Apron,” a set of harsh financial and draft penalties specifically designed to make it nearly impossible for modern franchises to stack multiple superstars in the way the 2016 Warriors did.

The Verdict: A Legacy of Leverage

Terrell Owens’ defense of Kevin Durant remains one of the most honest assessments of professional sports. Whether it was KD moving to Oakland or T.O. forcing his way to Philly, both men understood a fundamental truth: In a business that can cut you at any moment, your only real power is the right to choose where you stand when the contract ends.

The “superteam” era may be fading under new salary cap restrictions, but the philosophy Owens championed—that players are the CEOs of their own careers—has changed the DNA of sports forever.