Former NFL WR Antonio Brown Wants To Be A NASCAR Driver – And Mark Martin Has Offered To Help Make It Happen

Could we see AB out on the track?

Antonio Brown was an outspoken and controversial figure during his time in the NFL. The star wide receiver was infamous for his unceremonious exit in the middle of a game while playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Brown was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010, and spent nine seasons with the team before being traded to the then-Oakland Raiders. He then signed with the New England Patriots, but only appeared in one game before being cut.

Ahead of the 2020 season, Brown reunited with his Patriots teammate Tom Brady in Tampa Bay, where he helped lead the team to a win in Super Bowl LV, and returned in 2021 before quitting in the middle of a game by stripping off his jersey and pads and running off the field.

That was the last time Brown appeared in an NFL game, but he definitely hasn’t been quiet since his retirement.

Brown notably endorsed President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential election, and even appeared at a Trump rally where he named everybody in attendance his “Cracker of the Day.” And he’s also the founder of “CTESPN,” his own “news network” where he breaks sports news and…well, does whatever he wants.

And apparently what he wants to do now is…drive a NASCAR race car?

It all started with a post from a satire account The Daily Downfords (which is a parody of a real news site, The Daily Downforce), which claimed that AB had applied for a license to compete in NASCAR.

But AB saw the post, and apparently it gave him an idea:

Oh boy…

Well Brown began posting about his NASCAR ambitions, and tagged retired NASCAR legend Mark Martin to ask for some help – and it sounds like Martin is onboard with the idea:

He’s even started smack talking some of his (future) fellow drivers, calling out Kyle Larson after his dominant win at Kansas yesterday in the NASCAR Cup Series:

“Kyle dont want that smoke.”

Gotta be honest, at this point I’m not sure whether AB is joking or not. Obviously it’s not easy to just get into a car and compete in NASCAR, but Brown is also the kind of guy who would hop in a race car and give it a shot just for the attention that it would bring. And there’s no doubt it would bring a ton of attention, because you never really know what you’re going to get from the wildcard former NFL player.

And now that I’m thinking about it, it might be just what NASCAR needs. The sport has gotten so buttoned up and polished that a personality like AB might actually help the sport. Not to mention having a guy out there who’s not shy about ruffling feathers and making bold moves. Could you imagine what would happen if somebody bumped AB and made him mad? AB would launch him out of there faster than he got off the field in Tampa.

Ok, so maybe it would be a bad idea. But you’ve gotta admit it would be entertaining as hell.