Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports if Antonio Brown doesn't start shaping up and following NFL rules ... he's NEVER going to play a down in the league again!!!
"The game will go on without Antonio Brown," Sharpe says. "He needs to understand that."
Sharpe tells us his beef with AB is simple ... he thinks the wide receiver believes he's bigger than the league -- and therefore doesn't have to abide by its laws.
Specifically, Sharpe believes Brown is dodging NFL investigators when it comes to his civil lawsuit against Britney Taylor -- the woman who alleges Brown raped her in 2018.