FILE - Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Blake Martinez leaves the field after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars during an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022, in Jacksonville, Fla. Martinez has joined the Carolina Panthers practice squad and the team is hoping he can help offer some stability to a position that has been ravaged by injuries, Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Blake Martinez has put his embattled Pokemon trading card business on hold and is returning to the NFL.
The Panthers play the Chicago Bears on Thursday night, although coach Frank Reich said he’s unsure if that will be enough time for Martinez to get up to speed given that he’s only participated in one practice. In 2022 he started “Blake’s Breaks,” a company which buys and sells Pokemon cards and reportedly did $8.3 million in revenue in just nine months, according to a CNBC report. One of his rare Pokemon cards was sold for $672,000.
Martinez defended his company, saying there are “a lot of things out there that aren’t true” and “a lot of false claims.”