Blake Martinez made a non-traditional career pivot after he suddenly retired from NFL in the middle of the 2022 season. Martinez, who was playing for the Las Vegas Raiders at the time, decided he would dedicate all of his time to the side hustle he started during the COVID-19 pandemic: buying and selling Pokemon cards.
No, this is not a joke. Martinez went so far as to found his own company, Blake's Breaks, during the 2022 offseason. Martinez's company made a reported $5 million in revenue on Whatnot, a collectible reselling platform, according to CNBC's Megan Sauer.