After Blowing Through $100 Million, Former NFL Star Antonio Brown Files For Bankruptcy: ‘I Just Had Fun’

Former star receiver of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Antonio Brown, has filed for bankruptcy after blowing through $100 million.

Brown played in the NFL for 12 years with teams including the Steelers, the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brown, 36, initially filed for bankruptcy in May 2024, after he spent all his career earnings. At the time, Brown said he was filing in order to repay his debts and restructure his finances.

In Monday’s episode of the One Night with Steiny podcast, Brown recalled of his finances while playing in the NFL, “I think I made $100 million if you count off the field.” 

Mark Steiny, host of the podcast, asked Brown, “How much did you spend of that $100 million?” Brown replied, “Well, I just filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, so I spent all of it…I blew all of my money. I blew everything…I just had my fun.”

However, he clarified that before spending his money, he had dedicated an unspecified portion of his earnings to his family for long-term finances.

“My people in my life,” he said. “They just took the money I made in the NFL, and they didn’t make that money mine no more… they put it away for my family generations, the trusts. They just threw it out there. So whatever I made in football, I just saved it for my family generation, my kids’ kids.”

Records filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Southern District of Florida reveal that Brown owed nearly $3 million to eight creditors, with his assets listed at $50,000 or less.

Brown has been open about his financial struggles in the past; in an interview with The Pivot podcast in July, he candidly spoke about his debt; “I mean, I’m f—ing up, you know what I’m saying?”

He continued, “I just can’t comply with debt. You know, it’s all about protecting yourself. But yeah, you know… I’m not broke, but I’m fractured. I’m just reallocating the debt to take care of the debtors. That’s all I’m doing.”

He added, “You know, at this point, I don’t work, I don’t make millions of dollars where it’s coming in where I could just [pay off] some of that money. So you know, Chapter 11 is about restructuring the money you’re making so you can take care of the debt.”

In 2013, Brown became the only receiver In NFL history to record five receptions and a minimum of 50 yards in every game of the season. Brown also set a number of records for the Steelers, whom he played with for nine years; he holds the most receiving yards (1,834), most receptions (134) and most touchdown carries in a single campaign (15).