For all members of the Pittsburgh Steelers, there is life after football. That post-football life could come in the form of living on a quiet ranch like Jack Lambert. It could come in the form of a weekly television personality on a major sports network like Terry Bradshaw or hosting a podcast like Ben Roethlisberger.
As the Steelers teams of the 2010s continue to age and take their respective exits from the league, fans are able to keep following their lives off the field in a social-media-driven society. This is exactly where Antonio Brown and an old running mate are planning to come out of retirement to play together one last time.
Screenshot From Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger
Pittsburgh Steelers former QB Ben Roethlisberger on his podcast
For those of you who may not know, Brown is a majority owner of the Albany Empire. The Empire is a football team as a part of the National Arena League. Throughout the season, we’ve watched Brown’s antics as an owner get him into trouble, leading to unhappy players and coaches. Further, Brown has been asked to leave games as an owner due to his behavior.
Recently, Brown declared he would come out of retirement to play in a game with the team he owns. This was supposed to happen last month but missed the game due to a late physical. Therefore, Brown announced he will play in the team’s game on June 17th against the Jacksonville Sharks. Brown is expecting a huge celebration as he sat down with Roger Wyland of WNYT.
“Yes, I’m going to play,” Brown announced. We’re trying to bring a celebration to the stadium. Celebrate the Black community. So, I’m definitely going to play June 17th.”
As fate would have it, it looks like another former Steelers teammate of Brown is throwing his hat in the ring with his brother to join him. That new brother duo is none other than Maurkice Pouncey and his brother Mike Pouncey. Per Pouncey’s Instagram story, it looks like the Pouncey brothers want one last ride with Brown and his team.
Instagram/Antonio Brown/@ab
Antonio Brown's Instagram story June 2nd, 2023.
Members of Steelers' Lore Looking For One Last Curtain Call
Steelers fans adored (Maurkice) Pouncey throughout his 10-year career in Pittsburgh. Pouncey established the ferocious, physical play style of the team’s offensive line through the peak offensive seasons. Whether it was Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph or Devlin Hodges, Pouncey was every quarterback’s dream at the center position. He re-set the standard for the position for future players and remains one of the best centers in recent history. He earned the respect of every player he's played with by backing them up in any way possible.
(Mike) Pouncey also made a name for himself as a physical center in the NFL. Being the identical twin of Maurkice, they shared the same mindset and play style toward the center position. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2011 and then moved out west as a part of the Los Angeles Chargers for the final two years of his career. Both Pouncey brothers made their mark in the NFL and carry that momentum into their lives after football.
Photo Courtesy of Associated Press
Steelers Maurkice Pouncey taking care of Cleveland Browns' Myles Garrett in 2019.
Besides the noticeably-impressive weight loss the two brothers display, the Pouncey brothers partnered up with Tropical Distillers. Being a Florida-based company, Tropical Distillers are leveraging the strong influence the Pounceys hold to grow their market beyond the state of Florida. Looking at the current beacon of coming out of retirement for one last time, it looks like the Pounceys are expanding their market up the east coast to Albany, New York.
While talks of this appear to be simply in the infancy stages, the trio of Brown and the Pouncey brothers would ignite a storm of fans to travel to Albany. Steelers’ fans would be able to watch relics from offenses past come back to life on a football field and relive the glory days.
This is an interesting trend to watch, however. With Brown being the majority owner of the team, he can essentially sign whoever he wants to play for or even whoever he wants to play with. Who knows, could there be more Steelers alumni in retirement who are looking for one last curtain call? Only time will tell in determining what other names Steelers fans could see play for the Empire heading into the final nine games of their season.
Would you watch the Pouncey brothers play with Brown? Who would you want to see come out of retirement and play arena football? Let us know in the comments below!
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