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Ex-NFL linebacker Blake Martinez is reportedly set to attempt a comeback.
Martinez — who played for the Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and Las Vegas Raiders — retired from the league at age 28 after landing an ultra-rare Illustrator Pikachu Pokemon card and selling it for $672,000.
It was that breakthrough that led to Martinez walking away from the gridiron to buy and sell Pokemon cards full-time.
Martinez started a trading card company, Blake’s Breaks, and claimed to have made $11.5 million in less than a year, according to TMZ Sports.
Unfortunately for Martinez, things went south very quickly amid allegations that the business had scammed Pokemon card collectors. As a result, Martinez was permanently banned from the card-selling marketplace WhatNot for “misconduct.”
Report: Former NFL LB Blake Martinez has reportedly been permanently banned from reselling Pokémon cards on Whatnot over scamming collectors, according to @Dexerto
Statement from Whatnot: “After a comprehensive investigation into Blakesbreaks’ operations we have decided to… https://t.co/EwLWqQqGfQ pic.twitter.com/KBhAdqxraC
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 5, 2023
The company said at the time, “After a comprehensive investigation into Blakes Breaks’ operations we have decided to permanently remove the seller from our platform, including the individual employees involved in misconduct.”
Now that the card-selling business has gone down the drain, Martinez is hoping to return to the NFL and worked out for the Carolina Panthers this week.
We’ll have to see how that works out for him.
Martinez was a fourth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 2016 NFL Draft. In 2017, Martinez was the NFL’s co-leader in tackles. Throughout his career, the now-29-year-old recorded 706 tackles, 13 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recovers, 4 interceptions, and 22 pass deflections.
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