Tim was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the 1st round of the 1988 draft from the University of Notre Dame, where he won the Heisman Trophy as a senior in 1987. He was voted to the Pro Bowl nine times, (1988, 1991, 1993-97, 1999 and 2001) the first two times as a returner, the last 7 times as a receiver. In 2002 he passed Gene Upshaw to become the Raiders' all-time leader in games played with 224.

Brown had always been a fan favorite in the Oakland area and was much admired by many current and former Raiders players & staff over the 15 years he spent with the Raider organization.

In 2005, Tim Brown signed a one day contract with the Raiders to retire with the team he played 16 seasons for. Brown retired with 14,934 receiving yards, the second highest total in NFL history, 1094 receptions (3rd), and 100 touchdown catches (3rd-Tied). Brown also gained 190 rushing yards, 3,320 punt return yards, 3 fumble return yards, and 1,235 yards returning kickoffs. This gave him a total of 19,682 combined net yards, ranking him #5 among the NFL's all time leaders in that category at the time of his retirement.

in 2015 Tim Brown was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.