Why has former Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown’s NAL team been kicked out of the league?
Yet again the divisive former WR has found himself in the news and not for the right reasons. This time it’s due to his role as a team owner and not a player.
It would appear that the former Bucs pass catcher’s stint in the world of team ownership has come to an end after a very brief time, following a series of financial complications involving both the league in which his team played and the players themselves.
Antonio Brown’s NAL team expelled from the league
Though it’s hard to believe, it’s been just three months since former Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR, Antonio Brown, became the owner of the Albany Empire, only to see the team’s membership in the National Arena League come to an abrupt end. According to reports on Thursday, the NAL took the decision to push Brown’s team out after he refused to pay money that he owed to the league. To be clear, Brown still owns the team but it simply can’t participate in official games anymore.
“After exhausting all avenues, the NAL board of owners have decided unanimously to terminate the membership agreement of the Albany Empire,” the league wrote in a statement. ”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.”
What brought Antonio Brown to this point?
For the purpose of clarity, it’s important that you understand that there are seven teams in the NAL. Each of them is tasked with paying one-seventh of the league’s operational costs. As per reports, Brown not only failed to make the last two payments, but he also refused to pay the $1,000 fine with which he was hit for making disingenuous comments about the league itself.
“After acquiring the Albany Empire, new team owner Antonio Brown paid the Empire’s April assessment,” the league said. “The team then failed to make their May 15th assessment payment and last week just before the Empire’s game in Orlando, the league was notified that the April assessment was being challenged.” Where Brown himself is concerned, it’s interesting to note that his accountant, Alex Gunaris, told the NAL that the former NFL receiver was not likely going to pay the outstanding costs. Needless to say, it was then that the league took action, informing Brown that he had until noon on Thursday to pay. When that didn’t happen, Albany’s membership was terminated. “Unfortunately Mr. Brown has failed to meet the deadline to his team’s required financial obligations, and as a result, the league has terminated his membership Agreement,” the league stated.
Antonio Brown has made a mess from the start
If this all seems par for the course, it’s because it is. You may recall one of our previous reports which explained the chaos that ensued shortly after Brown took over the team back in March. From multiple accounts of unpaid salaries to both players and staff to bizarre interactions with the would-be owner, to the departure of the team’s head coach Damon Ware, it was clear that the franchise was in disarray. At any rate, the official account from the team is that the missed payments were the result of a change in payroll processors following Brown’s acquisition of the franchise. You be the judge.
While it’s not related, there is added context in the fact that as recently as April, Brown was sued by a jeweler who alleged that Brown owes him more than $1 million. There was also a lawsuit filed against him by his own marketing company back in 2021 to the tune of $2.4 million. This is all to say that at the very least, Antonio Brown has a documented history of not paying what people are owed. Ultimately, the sad thing about all of this is that there are a number of people within the franchise who are unpaid and now, they can’t even compete. This is from a team that has actually won the last two consecutive NAL championships.