Getty Image / Shareif Ziyadat
Antonio Brown recently became a part owner of an team in the Arena Football League and has claimed he would also be a part of the roster as well.
In fact, he was supposed to make his debut with the Albany Empire on Saturday night. Fans anticipated seeing him on the field and packed the stadium.
Just the idea of seeing Antonio Brown in a football uniform again brought 4,500 fans to attend the game, per Pro Football Focus.
However, Empires fans were left disappointed when Brown opted not to play at all. According to Pro Football Talk, “the official reason is that the paperwork on his physical didn’t come through in time.”
It’s an odd situation, especially considering sources also claim that Brown didn’t have to pass a physical to play due to the fact that he’s an owner.
So basically, Antonio Brown led Arena Football fans to believe that he was going to play just to not even dress down in the last minute.
Regardless, the former NFL superstar is adamant that he’s going to play. He even states that he’ll be playing in the next game on June 9.
Here’s what Brown had to say about it. “I am going to be playing. “You didn’t lie. Everything is going to fall in place.”
Even went into depth about some of things he needs to do before he can properly suit up, per Pro Football Talk.
“Stay tuned, AB’s coming. There’s proper procedures you’ve got to do to play football. You’ve got to pass the coach, the commissioner. You’ve got to be in physical condition. You can’t just pop up, so I’ve got to get my feet wet. We’ve got to get the proper equipment. We’ve got to do the right thing.”
As of right now, maybe Arena Football fans should treat Antonio Brown’s words with caution. It’s not like he’s had the best track record in recent years.
So, with that said, perhaps Brown can prove everyone wrong by actually playing in the Albany Empires next contest on June 9. If he does, then maybe he can find his way back to the NFL.