A scandalous Pokémon player is making his return to the NFL.
Veteran linebacker Blake Martinez is coming out of retirement and signing with the Carolina Panthers, according to Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Report.
“Martinez, who has over 700 career tackles and 39 TFLs, was last with the Raiders after spending his first six years with the Packers and Giants,” Schultz wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Panthers coach, Frank Reich on the team planning to sign veteran LB Blake Martinez to the practice squad. Martinez announced he was retiring after last season after selling a rare Pokémon card. pic.twitter.com/aO4xQqwFZ8
— David Newton (@DNewtonespn) November 6, 2023
Martinez retired from the NFL almost a year ago with the intention of living off the proceeds of the big sale and trading and selling other Pokémon cards.
However, he became embroiled in a scandal as a trader and seller on WhatNot, a social media marketplace used by many Pokémon card buyers, which saw him banned from the platform.
The NFL world was quick to reach to the surprising news:
Four months after saying he was done in the NFL, Blake Martinez is back.
The motivation? His Pokemon live streaming empire came crashing down after allegations of rigged gamblinghttps://t.co/BlYoNoZa1m https://t.co/5zuOaReQTf
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 6, 2023
The level of unseriousness is unprecedented on Mint Street https://t.co/k5jNWFujTG
— Panthers Culture 🥷🏽 (@PanthersCulture) November 6, 2023
Just 39 TFLs on 700 Career Tackles is everything you need to know about what Blake Martinez is as a Linebacker. https://t.co/SnLpXZFqOp
— Marcus Whitman (@TFG_Football) November 6, 2023
Fitt has signed like 8 guys who weren't in camp with us and majority of them have had to play. The depth he's built is trash. https://t.co/I1XjbkrC5s
— Jarrett (J-ŘõÇK) (@Jdcostin910) November 6, 2023
Why do the Panthers have to be the dumbest possible franchise on the planet earth? This guy literally scammed people off of Pokémon cards. Scott Fitterer is putting this team through hell https://t.co/oi2gVAY0Wb
— Snake (@Set_42_) November 6, 2023
Martinez is a longtime football player of Mexican-American descent. He played collegiately with the Stanford Cardinal and entered the NFL in 2016 when the Green Bay Packers selected him with the 131st pick in the fourth round of that year’s draft.
He has played with the Packers, the New York Giants, the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Carolina Panthers during his seven-year professional career.
