Antonio Freeman | Event USA

Antonio Michael Freeman (“Free”, born May 27, 1972) is a former Packers wide receiver.

He played college football at Virginia Tech, where he caught 93 passes for 1,534 yards and 16 touchdowns in three seasons. He also returned 63 punts for 651 yards and another touchdown, and rushed for 37 yards. His accomplishments earned him enshrinement in the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

Freeman was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 1995 NFL Draft. In his rookie season, he returned a punt 76 yards for a touchdown during a playoff win over Atlanta. He went on to lead the Packers in receiving in four seasons from 1996–1999, and led the NFL in receiving in 1998.

Arguably the peak of Freeman’s career occurred during the 1996 season, and in a victory in Super Bowl XXI over the Patriots. During that Super Bowl, Freeman caught a then Super Bowl record-longest touchdown pass of 81 yards from Brett Favre. That play would give the Packers the lead for good as they went on to win 35–21. Freeman finished the game with 105 yards.

The following year, Freeman gained over 1,200 receiving yards as Green Bay advanced to their second consecutive Super Bowl, where he caught 9 passes for 126 yards and 2 touchdowns. His 230 all-purpose yards in that game was the third highest total in Super Bowl history.

In 1998, Freeman had his best NFL season, catching 84 passes for a league leading 1,424 receiving yards and earning the right to a Pro Bowl appearance.

One of the more memorable plays of his career occurred during overtime of a Monday night game on November 6, 2000 when, despite bad weather conditions, Freeman caught what initially appeared to be an incomplete pass while lying on his back, but the ball actually bounced off multiple parts of his body without hitting the ground. Untouched by the defender, Freeman jumped to his feet and ran the ball in for the winning touchdown over the Vikings. The touchdown prompted ABC play-by-play announcer Al Michaels to famously shout, “He did WHAT?!” In 2005, ESPN labeled the catch as the greatest play in the history of Monday Night Football.

Freeman has said it was the second best catch of his career (claiming his best to be the 81-yard touchdown reception in Super Bowl XXXI).

His final catch with the Packers occurred on the road in December 2003 during the fourth quarter of Brett Favre’s phenomenal performance against the Oakland Raiders on ABC’s Monday Night Football, following the death of Favre’s father.

In his ten NFL seasons, Freeman caught 477 passes for 7,251 yards, gained 1,007 yards returning kickoffs and punts, and scored 61 touchdowns. His teams made the playoffs in seven of his NFL seasons. He appeared in four NFC Championship Games and two Super Bowls. As of 2018, he ranks sixth all-time on the Green Bay Packers receivers list with 6,651 yards on 431 catches.

Freeman had three 1,000 yard receiving seasons in his career, 1997-1999. In 2006 Freeman won a Pop Warner Award for his work with youth.

Antonio occasionally participates as an analyst on ESPN First Take and NFL Live, mostly during the NFL season. He has also appeared on ESPN College Gameday. He has hosted his own radio show ‘The End Zone with Antonio Freeman’ since 2010. The show currently airs on WTSO in Madison and WOKY in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Freeman was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

Most notably, he hosts the Event USA pre-game tailgate party for Packers home games and has appeared at several Event USA road tailgate parties and other Event USA special events.

See Career Stats

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Kudos to Amy for making sure that the tickets to the tailgate party were waiting for me at the reception desk! Your personal phone call and text messages went above and beyond customer satisfaction! I can't wait for the 2024 season, rest assured that my go-to Packer's game supplier will be Event USA for a long time.
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-Jean-Pierre Mallette, Montréal, Canada

"Thank you so much Cathy, greatly appreciate your help. As always, EventUSA has been awesome to deal with in booking the Lodge Kohler package for the Tampa Bay Game, particularly for me traveling from Sydney, Australia, it takes the stress out of the booking process. "

-Kayle

"Good Morning, Nicole - Everything you did turned out great. The seats were great. Access to the air conditioned club lounge was great. Lots of Packers fans in the club lounge and overall at the stadium. The tailgate party at the fancy restaurant in the hotel was fabulous. The servers just kept on bringing out different sliders and desserts. Good thing that I got in a 30-minute run along the river in the morning. So, thank you! You may be speaking with me in November if I can work out getting up to Green Bay for a game. It's been too long since my last time. One of the best aspects of this weekend was interacting with so many people from Wisconsin and learning their personal stories of things Packers. And we even met a couple from St. Petersburg, Florida (my home county) and were able to tell them about the Varsity Club tavern and Packers bar in Clearwater where Mark Murphy's mother is in attendance -- very nice lady whose retirement home is in Clearwater, which borders my little city of Dunedin. Pre-COVID, I always went to the Varsity when the Packers games weren't televised locally -- lots of Wisconsin natives there, too + they serve brats and sauerkraut during Packers games. I'm glad that you are working for Event USA. "

-- Martin Lawyer, Dunedin, Florida

"Dennis - I was blessed to join Amy and some of your customers at the Morton's tailgate as well as after the game. She does an amazing job for you. Every single customer I met praised Event USA for being able to arrange the hotel and tickets and fabulous tailgate party in such a quick time. Having been to some great tour tailgate parties in Jacksonville and Kansas City and old San Francisco, a lot can be said of the long-term benefit of having really great tailgate parties. Morton's was probably one of the best - amazing food, patio sitting on the riverfront, walk to stadium, open bar!!! It was first class fun!!!"

-Matt

"Hi Amy- Just wanted to say thank you for making Jacksonville happen! We had a wonderful time and looking forward to more Packers games with Event USA in the future! Even though the game was not what we expected- we are packers fans for life-lol! Go pack go!!"

-Julie Mastrianni

"I want to thank Event USA and in particular Amy Flores for the Jacksonville trip. We have used you before and always were very pleased with the packages you have set up and your service. My son who lives in Charleston, SC and myself who lives in Minnesota, decided we needed to do a guys trip and decided to go through your company to see the opener in New Orleans. I initially called and talked with Amy about some questions I had and booked our trip. After itinerary and info was emailed to us, it soon became apparent that the trip to New Orleans wouldn’t happen. In steps Amy, wondering if we would be interested in Dallas if the game was moved there and a package was set up. Then finally the move to Jacksonville and continued communication from Amy on our interest. It was getting late at that point and I was wondering if she would be able to pull off setting up a package in Jacksonville. She did it. We went to Jacksonville and had a great time. The accommodations and the tail gate were fabulous. If only the Packer team we were hoping for had made the trip. Thank you Event USA and in particular Amy Flores."

-Tom Sohrweide, White Bear Lake, MN

"Thank you for all your help. I had a great time at the Packer-Raider game opening day. I have already begun telling interested Packer fans in Sacramento about your service. The next time I come to Green Bay for a game, I’ll be sure to ask for your help. God bless you and God bless the Green Bay Packers."

-Frank Chavez, Sacramento

"I just wanted to say that I had such a great time. The whole weekend was so much fun. I enjoyed the Player Autograph Party and the tailgate party was just the best. After coming from a country that loves soccer, it was nice to mix with people who have the same interests as me. Thank you once again, Green Bay is one very special place."

-Beverley Moore, Lancaster

"My accommodations at the Best Western Midway were excellent. I was picked up at the airport and returned promptly. No problems at all. Your representative at the hotel on game day was very pleasant and helpful. The tailgate party was super, great food, great drinks and lots of fun. Obviously, Lambeau Field and the game itself was great. I will continue to use Event USA in the future, and I will definitely tell anyone who I come across to give you a call. One last thing, the hospitality I experienced in Green Bay was incredible. I have traveled to many places, and I don’t think there are more friendly people than the people of Green Bay. Thank you again and see you next year!"

-David Anastas, Worchester

"My wife and I booked the tour to Tampa. The trip was so well organized from start to finish. It started with the people in the office with their friendly help over the phone, to receiving the tickets in the mail, and meeting the tour guides with their upbeat personalities. Signs guided us in the airport and information was posted in our motel lobbies to keep us posted. Your people had everything in order. Talk about organization, you had it. Event USA made this a most memorable trip. Thanks for all involved."

-Dick Koerner, Neenah

"I wish to convey my sincere thanks and gratitude for providing my husband and I with, what he refers to as the greatest experience of my life, apart from my wedding day."

-Lara and Matt Appleton, Thornhill, Ontario

"Thanks for all your help, the great tickets and service, and the chance to help me make one of my son’s dreams come true, seeing the Packers playing at home in Lambeau Field."

-Sam Jones, Sedalia

"I just want to thank you for the wonderful job your staff did last weekend for the Packers vs. Lions game. This was our first time utilizing your program and we were not disappointed at all. In fact, we can’t wait to schedule and event for next season’s games. From my first experience with your staff placing my order until the very end at checkout of the hotel, everything was perfect. You truly out-do yourselves to please everyone. Thanks again for making our stay in Green Bay one of the best."

-Kim Ewing and Bruce DeMaine, Ann Arbor

"Thanks so much for the best weekend ever! You not only got us in all the Magazines, TV, WWW pages and even the big screen at Lambeau Field, but Disney World on the side? Nice job – You and your family are top notch – we were on the best tour for the Super Bowl! Seeing the Green Bay Packers win back the Lombardi Trophy was a life long dream of this Packer fan, and you all were so dedicated to the job of taking care of us that, like the Packers, we were a winning team! Keep me on your list."

-William D Lorge, Representative to the Wisconsin State Assembly