Former NFL linebacker Blake Martinez has carved out a lucrative second career.
The Athletic's Zak Keefer detailed Friday how Martinez turned his childhood passion of collecting Pokémon cards into a professional pursuit by starting his own company, Blake's Breaks, last July.
Blake's Breaks has since generated $11.5 million in revenue and employs almost 20 full-time employees. Keefer wrote one Pikachu Illustrator card alone netted $672,000 at auction for Martinez, and another went for $570,000.
The Green Bay Packers selected Martinez in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft after he had a productive college career at Stanford.