How much did Antonio Brown pay for Albany Empire? Unwrapping Super Bowl winner's AFL controversy

NFL legend Antonio Brown joined the ownership group of the Albany Empire on Mar. 2, 2023. He purchased a stake in the Albany Empire for an undisclosed amount and began hands-on ownership of the Arena Football League team.

On Apr. 15, Brown told reporters:"I'm the owner, 100 percent owner" of the Empire, a statement denied by Mike Kwarta, who said that Brown and Kwarta each owns 47.5 percent of the team.

Fur days later, Brown bought Kwarta's ownership stake for $1, growing his position to 95% of the franchise, as the Empire announced that Kwarta and two other executives were no longer affiliated with the team.

Since assuming significant ownership of the Albany Empire, Brown has been in the news for many reasons. In this article, we explore the most controversial bits of his ownership and how that has led to the Empire getting kicked out of the league.

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Antonio Brown Albany Empire AFL controversy explained

On Thursday (June 15), the Albany Empire, owned by Antonio Brown, was kicked out of the National Arena League.

The Empire, founded in 2021, began its brief history in the NAL (founded in 2016) under the ownership of Ron Tridico and Nate Starling. Since Brown took over, the 2021 and 2022 championships have been nothing short of a disaster, both on and off the field, culminating in their exile on Thursday.

The final straw came when Brown and the Empire failed to pay the assessments required to keep the league running. Those assessments come from every team in the league and are mandatory.

According to the NAL press release, the choice to remove the Empire came after it became clear that Antonio Brown would not pay his assessments or a $1,000 fine for conduct detrimental to the league. So, the other owners in "good standing" decided to the emergency conference call.

The Albany Empire subsequently got the boot out of the AFL due to an array of controversies. The most controversial of which was their precarious financial position.

Per the NAL's release, Antonio Brown paid the league's assessment in April. Assessments are the payment required from each team to pay the NAL's operating budget. However, Brown skipped the league's May 15 assessment and contested the one in April, for which he was refunded. Brown also refused to pay a $1,000 fine for conduct detrimental to the league.

Because of that, the other owners had an emergency conference call, in which the Empire was booted out of the league. How Brown and the Empire respond to this monumental move remains to be seen.