Blake Martinez Attempts NFL Comeback After Being Accused Of Scamming Pokemon Card Collectors

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Former fourth-round pick Blake Martinez retired from football in November 2022 and quickly made an absolute fortune selling Pokemon cards. Now, after finding himself in a major controversy in the Pokemon world, Martinez appears to have his sights set on an NFL return.

The 29-year-old former linebacker worked out for the Carolina Panthers earlier this week, according to NFL Network. Martinez's attempt at a comeback comes two months after he was accused of scamming card collectors and being banned from card marketplace WhatNot.

In just seven months time post-retirement, Martinez amassed over $5 million in revenue as a full-time Pokemon card dealer. His business Blake’s Breaks was questioned by WhatNot back in August with the company announcing it decided to permanently remove Martinez from the platform.

A video on Reddit went viral in the Pokemon space accusing Martinez’s company of swapping out higher-level packs for lesser-value packs.

Blake Martinez spent four seasons with the Green Bay Packers before playing another two for the New York Giants. He tore his ACL three games into the 2021 season with New York before being released at the. end of the year. Martinez was able to make the Las Vegas Raiders' roster in 2022, but retired to go full-time in the Pokemon card space after four games.

The Stanford product was drafted 131st overall by the Packers during the 2016 NFL Draft.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.