Antonio Brown, who dramatically left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this year, has announced that he has a new job.
The former NFL wide receiver shared the news via a post on Instagram showing an invoice of more than $2.1 million for an owner’s suite and several front-row VIP passes to Super Bowl LVI.
“WE THE OWNERS NOW!,” Brown wrote, disclosing that he is president of the Kanye West-created company, Donda Sports.
“As President, it was important to me to book the Donda Suite for this years SUPERBOWL LVI,” Brown’s caption read. “This is a game meant to be watched together. This is the love and unity we need to push. THIS IS FOR THE KIDS, OUR NEXT GENERATION!!!”
Brown also shared that Donda Sports would be hosting community events during the Super Bowl weekend, adding that the company will be “inviting kids and their families to the game,” wanting to “give people the Donda Experience.”
According to a press release published by Hollywood Unlocked, “Donda Sports was founded with the vision of providing holistic support to athletes during and beyond their sport’s career.” It quotes Ye maintaining, “When the game is done, Donda Sports is not done with you.”
Brown joins media personality Justin Laboy at the company, which will also have an athletic wear and sneakers component.
In an interview last month with Complex, Brown said of the organization, “We’re just excited about the Donda Sports brand, and making this thing a competitive sports brand to the athletes.”
“I don’t think there’s a lot of fashion lines for athletes, wearing fashionable and comfortable clothes, so with a guy like Kanye West, being able to partner with him and work with him to provide more creative, genius ideas for fashion looks for athletes in general… I’m just grateful for the opportunity here soon, to share what we’ve got with the world. And you guys are hearing it first, we got some exciting things to look forward to this year.”
Brown abruptly walked off the field during the Week 18 game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets. He was almost immediately dismissed by the team. Brown later released a lengthy statement saying that he was forced to play with an injured ankle and, despite the departure, expressed gratitude to the team and fans.
“I make mistakes. I’m working on myself and I have positive influences around me. But one thing I don’t do is shy away from playing hard on the field. No one can accuse me of not giving it my all every play,” the statement read, in part.
Brown, who is also a rapper, added that despite his past mistakes he did not deserve to be treated so poorly. “They threw me out like an animal, and I refused to wear their brand on my body, so I took my jersey off,” he said.
Despite the issues with the team and the NFL, Brown told Complex he plans to return to the NFL.
“I’m a football player, man. I’m a professional athlete. Let’s not get that twisted,” he said. “That’s my main thing. But right now, what I do with music is what I do when I’m not playing. So once I’m able to get my surgery and get cleaned up, hopefully, the album will already be out. I’ll be able to sit down on a routine and do what I need to do to get myself the opportunity to play again.”
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