![]() He has also denied a second woman's allegations of sexual misconduct. For all of his Pro Bowl success, Brown's career, with the Steelers, Raiders, Patriots and Buccaneers, was marked by controversy, both before and after he ran off his final NFL field midgame in January 2022.Īmong other incidents, Brown has settled a lawsuit by a former trainer that accused him of sexual assault, denying the allegations. "It's f-ing Antonio Brown," Kwarta said to two team officials who were in the room.Įmpire executives knew about Brown's checkered past. "Hey wanna make history?" Nelson tweeted at Brown, with a trophy emoji.īefore long, majority owner Mike Kwarta's phone rang. "Imagine what makes me."īen Nelson, who ran the Empire's social media and whose parents were fans of the Firebirds, saw an opportunity. "My daddy was a legend," Antonio Brown tweeted. 21, the Arena Football League posted a highlight reel on Twitter that featured the greatest player in its history, "Touchdown" Eddie Brown, who starred for the now-defunct Albany Firebirds in the 1990s. "He came in promising the world," Prince said, "and didn't show for s-." Prince and his Empire teammates are left to ponder their futures and the deflated expectations of Brown's tenure. Just talk to my authorized representative." "You talked to my guy Alex already, right?" Brown said when reached by phone by ESPN, referring to his accountant. The National Arena League board voted unanimously to kick the team out in June for failure to pay three months of membership fees, according to Alex Gunaris, Brown's accountant, and two league sources.īrown's brief, doomed tenure as the Empire's owner was defined by unpaid bills, unfulfilled promises and erratic behavior, according to players, coaches, team employees and fans interviewed by ESPN. Brown, who raised fans' hopes by buying into the team in March, is nowhere to be seen, and the Empire are no more. ![]() Prince scored three touchdowns in a 56-49 loss before another 10-hour ride back to Albany.įour months later, Empire players are still owed compensation from Brown's tenure, according to a local attorney who is preparing potential lawsuits. Several hours later, Prince received a screenshot that seemed to show a pending payment would arrive by the following Monday, and Empire players filed onto the bus. Prince helped compile a list of how much each player was owed and sent it to newly appointed team president Alberony Denis, who tried, and failed, to pay them via a Zelle cash transfer. Should they go to Greensboro and then refuse to play? What if the league blackballed them? Would it be the end of their NFL dreams? They sat in their rooms, in a 2½-star hotel between the Greyhound bus terminal and the interstate, refreshing their banking apps and texting in a group chat. Now, on a late-April evening, an empty bus waited to take them 10 hours south for a Sunday afternoon game against the Carolina Cobras, and the Empire faced a decision: Get on the bus or hold out for their pay. Some of the higher-earning players - Prince, the league MVP at the time, who had the top salary at about $3,000 per game - would help support teammates so broke that they were hungry. The week came and went with no payment.įor guys on one of the lowest rungs of professional football, where salaries start at $250 per game before taxes, no pay means no money for food, gas or rent. They'd been owed payment by direct deposit after their previous National Arena League game - a 55-53 home loss to the San Antonio Gunslingers - the first since Antonio Brown, the mercurial former NFL star receiver, became the team's majority owner. ![]() NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay BuccaneersĭARIUS PRINCE AND his two dozen Albany Empire teammates wanted their money. You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browserĪntonio Brown's short, chaotic ownership of Albany Empire
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