WATCH: AJ Brown talks about his decision to choose football over baseball

Before AJ Brown was out-muscling NFL defensive backs and making plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, he had another path waiting for him—professional baseball.

Unlike some players who agonize over these decisions, Brown’s choice was made in about five seconds once he saw what the competition looked like on the diamond.

Speaking on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, AJ Brown shared the moment he realized he was not about that baseball life.

AJ Brown was such a freak athlete that he could literally CHOOSE between the NFL and MLB

AJ Brown said "Let me go catch that ball" 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/QMVn7yUqb0

— Lefty Loading…. (@4_Ben_Media) February 26, 2025

“I’ll tell you when I made the decision to play football,” Brown said. “I’m in right field, I’m in the All-America game in Chicago. The first pitch was like 97 (mph)—97 off the rip? I’m usually facing like 85.”

Let’s just pause there. Brown, a literal freak athlete, took one look at some high school kid firing 97 mph heaters and immediately started re-evaluating his life.

“We still in high school, though, so these are all high school players and these guys are probably gonna go first round. I see him throw an off-speed pitch and it’s like a 90-mph breaking ball. I’m gonna see if I can go over here and hit this.”

Brown did manage to make contact—but in the most humbling way possible.

“I end up hitting it and actually hitting it to third base, like a little dribble to third base. I end up beating it out. I’m on base and I’m like, ‘These boys throwing this ball hard as hell. We in high school. What’s it gonna be like when I get to the league?’ Nah, I’ll go catch that football.”

And just like that, baseball lost a potential star.

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Safe to say that AJ Brown made the right call…

Brown was actually drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 19th round of the 2016 MLB Draft, but he never played professionally. Instead, he focused on football at Ole Miss, became a two-time First-Team All-SEC selection, and has since turned into one of the most dominant wide receivers in the NFL.

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Brown, who regularly trucks 250-pound defenders, found 97-mph fastballs scarier than getting lit up over the middle by NFL safeties.

Think about that.

AJ Brown has no problem running straight into guys built like refrigerators, but a nasty breaking ball? Absolutely not.

Moral of the story: If you’re built like AJ Brown and still think baseball is harder, it probably is.

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