Football is family — except when it’s not.
As is the case with many NFL players who share the same last name, family roots run deep across the league. The Watts, Bosas, Chubbs, Kelces are some of the related players across the league, with many more generational links between players young and old.
On Thursday night, Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown continues to carve out his own legacy in his first year in Philadelphia as the Eagles face the Texans, leading some to question: Is he related to beleaguered former wide receiver Antonio Brown?
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There are family ties there, but not between the two. Here’s the story with the two wideouts:
Is A.J. Brown related to Antonio Brown?
No, A.J. Brown and Antonio Brown are not related. The only thing they share is a similar last name and their position on the field.
The two didn’t go to the same college or high school, don’t have the same home town and have never played against one another in the NFL.
Antonio Brown, 34, grew up in Miami and played at Central Michigan before the Steelers made him a sixth-round pick in 2010, while 25-year-old A.J. Brown is from Starkville, Mississippi, and was drafted out of Ole Miss by the Titans in the second round in 2019.
Though he shares a last name with many across the league, A.J. doesn’t have any relatives in the NFL. He does have close ties with many players, including Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore and Seahawks wideout D.K. Metcalf, two players he played alongside in college.
Antonio Brown isn’t alone in the NFL, though: He’s cousins with Cardinals wideout Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, as well as former NFL wideout Kenbrell Thompkins.
Antonio had long flirted with the idea of joining the Ravens when “Hollywood” was on the roster, but that never came to pass. Now Marquise is with Arizona, and Antonio is unemployed.
