Fans Rip Albany Empire Owner For Starting Shocking Rumor of NFL Return

It's been a busy few months for former NFL wide receiver, Antonio Brown. At the beginning of March, it was announced that Brown had joined the ownership group of the National Arena League's Albany Empire, a descendant of the Albany Firebirds, a team on which his father dominated for more than a decade.

Brown doubled down on his commitment to the team by purchasing a house in the Capital Region, and by overhauling the front office after buying out other members of the ownership group.

All of those actions made this tweet, which was sent earlier on Friday, even more surprising to football fans everywhere.

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Antonio Brown Shocks Fans in Albany, Everywhere with "NFL Return" Tweet

As the NFL offseason rolls on, it's not uncommon to hear rumors floating around about players joining certain teams. Between free agency and the draft, this is the time of year when NFL teams make changes to their roster, with the hope of lifting the Lombardi Trophy nearly a full year later.

This time around, however, it was the player himself starting his own rumor, as Albany Empire franchise owner Antonio Brown took to Twitter to post this:

The cryptic tweet, which was posted at 12:42PM on Friday, April 28th, implied that Brown would be returning to the NFL this coming season. Not only that, but it suggested that Brown would be joining the Baltimore Ravens, who less than 24 hours before, had locked QB Lamar Jackson down to a record-setting contract extension.

Naturally, football fans took to Twitter to voice their opinions on AB's tweet. Here were a few of our favorites:

If the goal for Antonio Brown was to go viral on Twitter, then his mission has been accomplished. His tweet has been viewed 8.3 million times as of 6:25PM, which is less than six hours after it was initially posted.

The tweet is harmless, and may be completely false. That said, Brown last suited up in an NFL game in 2021, and at 34 years old, may feel as though he has more left in the tank, and can help an NFL team win a championship in 2023.

For now, however, he'll continue to run the Albany Empire, and try to help the team deliver a title to the Capital Region this season.