by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

June 20, 2023

It’s Over For Antonio Brown’s National Arena League Football Team ‘After Several Failed Payments

Antonio Brown once again has turned up on the wrong side of things as the football team he owns has been kicked out of the league in which they were recent champions.

According to a press release sent out by the National Arena League (NAL), the Albany Empire has been kicked out of the league for not making mandatory payments to satisfy the contractual obligations of all team owners.

A statement issued by the league read: “After exhausting all avenues, the NAL board of owners have decided unanimously to terminate the membership agreement of the Albany Empire. The decision was reached after an emergency conference call of the members in good standing to discuss the Empire’s failure to pay their league-mandated and overdue assessments.”

The league stated that each NAL team is responsible to pay 1/7 of the league’s operating budget on a monthly basis starting April 2023.

Former NFL player Brown made the April payment yet failed to make another payment in the succeeding months. The league stated that before the Empire played a game in Orlando, Florida, they were notified that Brown was challenging the payment made in April.

After the NAL credited the payment back to Brown, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer told the league to speak directly to his accountant, Alex Gunaris. After Brown was also fined $1,000 for conduct detrimental to the league, Gunaris stated that “it didn’t seem like Mr. Brown was going to pay the assessment or fine.”

The league then held an emergency conference call and decided that if a payment wasn’t made by a certain date, the league would not only cancel the upcoming game for the Empire but also terminate the team’s membership in the NAL, effective immediately.

The Albany Empire won the last two championships until Brown purchased the team, in March 2023. According to CBS News, players and staff weren’t receiving paychecks from the team. The head coach left the Empire due to missed payments.

Brown was paid a total of $80.4 million over his 12-year career in the NFL.


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