There's no way in hell Antonio Brown retires from football over his helmet issue ... so says Bill Romanowski, who tells TMZ Sports you're NUTS if you believe the star WR is even considering it.
"Anybody that thinks Antonio Brown is gonna retire is cuckoo," the NFL legend says ... "The guy loves the game of football."
Brown is in a massive feud with the league over his favorite Schutt helmet ... with the NFL barring the superstar wide out from wearing the headgear he's donned for the past decade.
In fact, ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported Brown is so pissed about the ban ... he's threatening to quit playing if he can't get his way.
But, when we spoke to Romanowski -- who's spent some time with AB this summer -- he told us there's no chance Brown hangs it up, saying, "I think he truly loves being a Raider right now."
"He's excited to help bring a Super Bowl to the Raiders."
As for the Nutrition 53 founder's stance on the whole ordeal ... Romo clearly thinks it's BS on the league's part, saying Roger Goodell and Co. need to just let the guy use the helmet.
"Hey, the guy cares passionately about how he performs out on the field and he truly believes that the helmet makes him better."