In order to fully grasp the essence of this story, it’s necessary to delve into this sentence: “Blake brings the same level of hype he had sacking a quarterback when he pulls a Charizard from a pack.” This statement comes from an executive at Whatnot, a platform dedicated to buying and selling collectibles. The “Blake” mentioned is none other than Blake Martinez, as reported by Zak Keefer for the Athletic. Last year, at the age of 28, Blake Martinez made the surprising decision to retire from his successful career as an NFL linebacker in order to focus on selling Pokemon cards. Charizard, for those who are familiar with Pokemon, is a dragon-like character. Although it may sound peculiar, it is indeed true: Martinez left the football field to pursue a career in selling game cards. This decision was made early in the season after Martinez achieved a team-high of 11 tackles while playing for the Las Vegas Raiders in a game against Jacksonville. Prior to this, he had signed a $30 million contract with the New York Giants two years earlier.
Martinez explained his career shift by saying, “I just asked myself, do I want to keep starting over from ground zero with football, and keep destroying my body, or do I want to start over from ground zero here, and do something I can actually sustain for a long time?” He refers to the numerous injuries he had endured, despite his impressive 11-tackle game, which indicated a successful recovery. However, in his conversation with Keefer, Martinez revealed that his heart was no longer in the NFL. Instead, it was dedicated to his newfound passion for buying unopened boxes of Pokemon cards and unveiling them dramatically one by one during livestreams, which is known as a “box break” in the industry. This is far more than just a hobby for Martinez, as his company Blake’s Breaks has generated revenues exceeding $11.5 million in less than a year. With a team of 20 full-time employees conducting 16 hours of livestreams per day, Martinez has become a prominent figure in the Pokemon world, just as he once was on the football field. Read the full story here. (Or check out other longforms.)
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