The Canadian Football League wasn't a suitable alternative to playing in the NFL this year, so recently banned Cleveland Browns receiver Josh Gordon found another way to occupy his time -- being the goodwill ambassador for the Sarchione Auto Group in Ohio, sources told ESPN's Josina Anderson.
Gordon, 23, who led the NFL last season in receiving yardage but is suspended for the 2014 season, will work a 40-hour week in all aspects of the Randolph, Ohio-based dealer group's car business.
"He's going to put his time in,'' Jeff Sarchione, who co-owns a dealership in Randolph, told cleveland.com. "He'll be everything from a salesman to attaching himself at the hip with my brother and I just learning the automotive business from top to bottom.''
Later Thursday, Lupe Vargas, a spokesperson for Gordon, said he would not be selling cars.
Gordon also will head all of Sarchione's local community efforts, including with the Wounded Warrior Project. He is scheduled to start this weekend.
Browns coach Mike Pettine said he hadn't heard about Gordon's new job.
"Due to the rules of the suspension, we're not allowed to have contact with him," Pettine told reporters Thursday.
"We're just finding that out as well," he said. "That's something I don't really want to get into because I want to discuss the guys that are here ... Internally we want what's best for him. We just hope for that to occur."
Gordon briefly explored the possibility of playing in the CFL for the remainder of its season, but an NFL source told ESPN's Pat McManamon last week that provisions in his Browns contract would prevent him from doing so.
A CFL official said that, under its rules, Gordon would not be eligible to play because teams are prohibited from signing a suspended player of any league who is under contract with his league.
The NFL announced in August that arbitrator Harold Henderson upheld Gordon's 2014 season suspension for a failed test for marijuana. Gordon is a repeat offender of the NFL's substance abuse policy. The Pro Bowler had appealed the ruling and met with Henderson and other league officials in New York on Aug. 4.
During his suspension, Gordon is not allowed to practice with the Browns or attend team meetings or other club functions. He is under the NFL's treatment program, which would include counseling and random drug testing.