How Did Antonio Brown Lose $88M in Career Earnings? Exploring the Financial Downfall of the Bankrupt NFL Star

Despite retiring in 2021 with over $80 million in career earnings, Antonio Brown has filed for bankruptcy. Brown has made the headlines for a variety of bizarre things over the years, but losing his fortune so quickly has to take the cake. Fans naturally are now wondering how AB reached this position. Here are a few major incidents in AB’s life that may have led to his bankruptcy.

In a breakdown done by Tyler Webb on X, he notes that out of the $88 million earnings, Brown must have lost nearly 30%  to various taxes and agent fees. Thus it’s fair to assume that he was left with around $50 million after all the taxation. Now coming to the reasons behind his bankruptcy, one key habit that led to Brown’s downfall is his mindless abuse of credit cards. As per court documents reviewed by Florida Sports Union, Brown owes hundreds of thousands in just credit card dues.

The court documents also show that the former Patriots player owes a whopping $3 million to 8 creditors. Among these creditors is a Florida truck driver who was assaulted by Brown. The assault case saw the court award a $1.2 million compensation to the truck driver making him one of the biggest creditors in Brown’s list.

Another payment due ordered by the court is due to the player’s s*xual assault case with his trainer. The case didn’t go ahead due to a settlement agreed between the parties. While we don’t know how much Brown paid, rumors are rife that the player paid off his trainer with a whopping $2.7 million.

Lastly, a major monetary loss was suffered by the former NFL WR when he was sued by a celebrity jeweler for cheating him with two diamond rings that cost $500,000 each. The jeweler proved his case in front of the law and the court thus penalized Brown with a $1.1 million pay order.

Apart from these major misdemeanor cases, Brown lost a lot of money in petty fights and a baffling lack of discipline in paying off money. For instance, Brown owes $296 to a plumber.

Brown argued to the court that he couldn’t pay out three of the six-figure civil judgments by filing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, claiming less than $50,000 in assets, effectively putting him in $3 million worth of debt. However, he has million-dollar mansions in Florida contradicting his claims. Thus many are now speculating if Brown would be forced to sell his properties in Florida to pay off the creditors.

Will Antonio Brown Sell His Properties to Clear The Debts?

With Brown’s financial situation in disarray, a way to pay off a few million dollars would be to sell his house. Brown has a great repertoire of properties in Florida. His primary residence in Fort Lauderdale, for example, is a sprawling $6.6 million mansion purchased in 2016.

As per Realtor.com, the 12-bedroom ultra-modern amenities house of 18,000 square foot house is currently valued at $ 8 million. But he cannot sell this house. Nor can the bank or the court seize this property due to the legal respite granted by the state of Florida.

As per Cara Ameer, a bicoastal agent, the state of Florida has “generous homestead exemptions that protect the equity in your home if you file for bankruptcy. That’s why a lot of celebrities, entrepreneurs, and athletes like basing themselves in Florida as their primary residence,” reasoned Ameer.

But AB has two more properties in Florida which are not earmarked as his primary residence. The two properties in Tampa and Odessa, one a farmhouse and the latter a 9000-square-foot mansion are worth $1.8 million and $2.9 million respectively. Due to Florida laws allowing homestead exemption on a single property, Brown will likely be ordered to sell his other two properties to pay off his creditors.

Based on his social media antics, Brown looks unfazed about this whole ordeal. Regardless, some tough times are ahead for the former Tampa Bay player unless he has one final trick up his sleeve.