Former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown filed for federal bankruptcy in Florida on Monday (May 20) and reportedly owes nearly $3 million in debt, according to the filing obtained by the Times Union.
Brown, 35, who had previously owned the Albany Empire of the Arena Football League, is reported to owe money to eight creditors and cannot pay at least three six-figure civil judgments, which includes the $1.2 million awarded to truck driver Anton Tumanov, whom Brown was accused of assaulting and failed to appear in court for the case related to the 2022 incident.
The former All-Pro wide receiver is also reported to owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt $28,589 to Avanti Solutions for allegedly not paying them for work they did for his 'Rolling Loud' concert appearance in 2023, as well as $296 to a local plumber, all while claiming to have just $50,000 or less in assets. Brown is reported to have made a net total of $80.7 million during his 12-year NFL career, according to Spotrac.
Brown's decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy will allow him to reorganize his finances while having them protected from creditors. The controversial former wide receiver's X account hinted at bankruptcy, writing "I'm broke," along with a Cash App QR Code.
Brown, once regarded by many as the NFL's best wide receiver, has been at the center of numerous issues on and off the field in recent years. In June 2023, the Albany Empire announced plans to sue him over unpaid finances during his three month. long ownership.
In December 2022, an arrest warrant was issued to Brown by the Tampa Police Department in relation to a misdemeanor battery domestic violence charge, which was later dropped by the Florida State Attorney's Office. In April 2021, Attorney David Hass announced that Brown's legal dispute with gymnast Britney Taylor dating back to 2019 was settled in a joint statement with a representative for Brown, Alana Burstyn, obtained by NBC News.
Taylor sued Brown alleging he sexually assaulted her three times while she was working as his personal trainer. The wide receiver denied the allegations and later countersued Taylor, claiming her initial lawsuit stemmed from his refusal to invest more than $1.5 million in her gymnastics business.
In January 2022, Brown was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers one day after a strange incident in which he stripped off his uniform and ran off the field during the team's game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
Brown was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers at No. 196 overall in the sixth-round of the 2010 NFL Draft and quickly emerged as a perennial Pro Bowl selection before demanding a trade amid a contract dispute prior to the 2019 season.
The Miami native was later cut by Pittsburgh's trade partner, the then-Oakland Raiders, prior to ever appearing in a regular-season game.
Brown spent several games in 2019 with the New England Patriots and two seasons with the Buccaneers, with both tenures ending in controversy. The 35-year-old was a four-time First-team All-Pro (2014-17), a Second-team All-Pro in 2013 and a seven time Pro Bowl selection (2011, 2013-18), having led all NFL players in receiving yards twice (2014, 2017), receptions twice (2014, 2015) and receiving touchdowns in 2018.